Fire at Fishing Vessel Being Investigated as Suspicious

Authorities said on Friday morning that they are still investigating the cause of a suspicious Thursday morning fire that damaged the netting and equipment of a commercial fishing vessel in Point Pleasant Beach.

The fire, which started in the netting on the deck of the 67-foot Atlantic Queen, did not cause any injuries and is still under investigation, said Deputy Chief Michael Mohel of the Ocean County Prosecutor's office.

The Atlantic Queen was the same trawler allegedly used last month to harvest an excess amount of summer flounder and black sea bass.

On Jan. 25, the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) charged boat captain William Jeffery Stanley, 44, of Brick Township, and the boat's owner, Alda Gentile, 53, of Speonk, N.Y.

According to the DEP, the Atlantic Queen harvested nearly 2,400 pounds of summer flounder and more than 1,200 pounds of black sea bass in excess of state limits.

Peter Cacic, a boat captain who lives in Long Island, had been sleeping on the steel vessel when the fire started in the netting on deck, but he was not injured, police said.

On Thursday, Point Pleasant Beach Fire Chief Mark Drew said a man had been sleeping on the boat when a truck driver reported the fire on the boat's stern at about 12:42 a.m.

The boat was docked at Point Pleasant Packing at Channel Drive and Baltimore Avenue, Drew said.

About 30 firefighters from Ocean Fire Companies 1 and 2, of the Point Pleasant Beach Fire Department, extinguished the blaze by 1:30 a.m., Drew said.

Regarding the DEP charges, conservation officers had boarded the Atlantic Queen shortly after midnight Jan. 25 after noticing that it appeared to be overloaded with summer flounder and black sea bass.

The vessel had just docked in Point Pleasant Beach after returning from a 10-day fishing trip, officials said.

The Atlantic Queen's crew, under the direction of the officers, loaded the boat's catch on a dock and weighed it, revealing the excess weight.

Officials with the DEP said the vessel had appropriate federal fisheries permits for flounder and sea bass.

However, it did not have the required state licenses for either of the species landed.

Under New Jersey's current regulations, the Atlantic Queen was licensed to harvest 200 pounds of summer flounder and 100 pounds of sea bass.

The boat brought in 2,397 pounds of flounder and 1,208 pounds of sea bass during the trip, according to the DEP.

Stanley and Gentile were each charged with landing summer flounder and sea bass without valid permits, harvesting both species in excess of 10 percent of total weight of species brought to the dock, failing to notify the state Division of Fish and Wildlife that it was fishing for either species, and harvesting summer flounder during a closed season.

The owner and captain could face penalties up to $21,000 each.

The Division of Fish and Wildlife sold the fish to a licensed dealer so they would not go to waste and is holding the proceeds of the sale pending adjudication of the case in Point Pleasant Borough Municipal Court.

A court official said on Friday there is no date set.

"Our coastal waters support rich and diverse commercial fisheries, but it is imperative that everyone, from captains and owners of ocean-going commercial vessels to the individual angler casting a line from the beach or a pleasure boat, obey the regulations that are in place to protect these resources," said Division of Fish and Wildlife Capt. Mark Chicketano. "This was a significant violation of those regulations."

Though summer flounder and sea bass are regularly caught by recreational anglers in local waters during the spring, summer and fall seasons, the fish migrate offshore during the winter months.

The open season on summer flounder is technically closed to commercial fishing during the winter, but the state allows commercial fishermen to bring a small amount of each species to the dock during that time period, primarily so fish inadvertently caught in nets aren't wasted.

The fire is still under investigation by the Point Pleasant Beach police department and the county Prosecutor's office.

Anyone with information is urged to call Detective Patrick Petruzziello of the Point Pleasant Beach Department at (732) 892-0050 or Detective Craig Ally of the prosecutor's office at (732) 929-2027.