Ventura County District Attorney settles illegal disposal lawsuit
VENTURA COUNTY, Calif. – A Palos Verdes man entered into a settlement with the Ventura County District Attorney's Office for a lawsuit alleging unlawful deposit of toxic substances outside the Ventura Harbor.
The 54-year-old man captains the "Sea Venture" commercial squid fishing vessel, and was caught by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife illegally dumping squid wastewater known as "stick water," according to Senior Deputy District Attorney Karen Wold.
Stickwater is harmful to aquatic life because of its high concentration of ammonia, Wold said.
As part of the settlement, the man will pay over $6,100 to the Department of Fish in Wildlife, $2,500 in civil penalties to the District Attorney's Office, $3,328 for investigative costs, and $3,000 for supplemental environmental projects.
The department will use the supplemental environmental project funds to purchase signs at the Ventura Harbor that will advise commercial fishermen of the laws that prohibit dumping wastewater and to purchase equipment for patrol vessels to store perishable liquid samples, Wold said.
