Petersburg Fishing Guides Facing Dozens Of State Violation Charges

Via Alaska Public Media, guides from Petersburg’s Rocky Point Resort are facing at least 50 fishing regulation violations. Here are some details:

State and federal officers were involved in the investigations, including undercover officers posing as fishing clients. The officers say they saw 62-year-old Gregory Wasik and 59-year-old Kristopher Thomas break several laws — taking too many customers, too many halibut, using too many fishing lines, throwing out small halibut to keep larger ones, and throwing out halibut that had been gaffed or hooked for bringing the fish onboard. The state also says the guides did not accurately document the halibut their clients caught.

Wasik is being charged with 17 counts for violations in June of 2019.Thomas faces 25 counts for violations in June and August of 2020.

The state is charging 43-year-old Charles King, known as “Nik,” with 10 counts for underreporting halibut caught by his clients in the summer of 2020. John Robert Snyder is being charged with two similar counts for violations in August of 2020. Snyder’s age was not listed in the court documents.

The report said the accused will be arraigned in Petersburg next week.