Coast Guard Cites Fishing Boat Off R.I. For Secret Hideaway
NEW BEDFORD (AP) — U.S. Coast Guard officials say they have issued violations to a fishing crew after finding a secret compartment on a Massachusetts-based fishing boat off the Rhode Island coast.
The Coast Guard said Sunday that teams from one of its vessels found the compartment Friday on the Dinah Jane, which was fishing for scallops near Block Island, R.I.
Coast Guard officials say having a hidden compartment on any vessel breaks federal law, and that boats are monitored to ensure that fresh scallops, lobster and other seafood are not hauled in above quotas.
The Coast Guard ordered the Dinah Jane to return to its homeport in New Bedford, where the compartment must be altered so it is no longer concealed. Its owner and operators could not immediately be reached Sunday for comment.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press.
