By Larry Coonrod
http://lincolncountydispatch.com
Oregon State Police Fish and Game troopers last week served a search warrant on Tradewinds Charters of Depoe Bay on suspicions the company had been taking money for one day fishing licenses but not issuing them. The investigation is ongoing and no charges have been filed. (Photo by Larry Coonrod)
DEPOE BAY— Oregon State Police are investigating the central Oregon coast’s largest charter boat company for possible license sales violations. Officers searched the office of Tradewinds Charters in Depoe Bay and charter boats associated with the company in late March. According to witnesses, several OSP Fish & Game officers spent most of the day at the Tradewinds office and in the harbor searching charter vessels. A copy of the search warrant affidavit shows the company is suspected of selling customers one day fishing licenses, but not actually issuing the license.
License Sales
Most charter boat companies purchase one-day license books from the Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife to sell to their customers. The books contain 25 licenses and cost $368.75 – $14.75 per license. Charter companies then sell the licenses for $16.75. The license books represent a substantial up front investment for charter companies. A typical bottom-fishing trip carries between six and 20 anglers and most companies have multiple boats under contract.
According to the search warrant affidavit, OSP Trooper Heather Van Meter began hearing “random bits of information” as far back as the summer of 2011 that Tradewinds Charters of Depoe Bay was charging customers for one-day licenses but not issuing them, providing a cash register type receipt instead. Oregon law requires anglers to be in possession of their license while fishing. Tradewinds Charters in Depoe Bay is a separate company from Newport Tradewinds and the businesses have no connection to each other. Depoe Bay Tradewinds is owned by Tim Harmon.
Witnesses Provide Information
According to the search affidavit, a number of witnesses, including ODFW fish checkers and a former deckhand aboard a Tradewinds Charters boat expressed concern that the company routinely did not provide anglers actual copies of their fishing license. The former deckhand said on one trip he asked six anglers for their fishing license, but they were only able to produce a paper receipt, reads the affidavit. According to the witness, charter captains were aware of the practice of passengers paying for but not receiving licenses at the Tradewinds Charters office but did not push the issue. The captains “had allowed Harmon to so much control over their livelihood, that they were afraid of him,” the witness said, according to the affidavit.
Boats Under Contract
Although charter companies run their own boats, they also serve as booking agents for independently owned boats. Under the arrangement, captains give the charter company a cut of their fee for each customer. In return, the charter company handles reservations, assigns customers to boats and promotes the business through multiple outlets. With 11 boats owned or under contract, Tradewinds Charters of Depoe Bay is the largest charter operator in Lincoln County.
Undercover Operation
State police troopers went undercover as Tradewinds Charters customers twice. In June 2014, two troopers boarded a Tradewinds Charters bottom fishing and crabbing trip. According to the affidavit, the troopers paid for and received one-day fishing licenses. However, one was told he could share his partner’s shellfish license. The trooper without the shellfish license reported having been allowed to pull two crab pots. Oregon law requires anyone engaged in crabbing have a shellfish license.
In January 2015, two more troopers went aboard a Tradewinds Charter undercover. Both reported paying for one-day licenses, but only receiving a paper receipt. According to the affidavit, one of the troopers reported that he did not see other customers receiving an actual fishing license. A Tradewinds counter employee “told him that the receipt was proof he had a daily angling license,” the affavidat says.
Van Meter in her affidavit said Tradewinds does not allow OSP troopers on its private docks to conduct license and game checks. Instead, they must stand on the public sidewalk along Highway 101 and catch anglers as they emerge from Tradewinds. Van Meter wrote that while checking Tradewinds Charters customers on the sidewalk in 2013, she was observed by a charter boat captain.
Afterwards, customers from one of two boats at the dock began leaving the businesses with licenses missing name and date of birth information “like they had been hastily filled out.” According to the affidavit, a comparison of daily ODFW license sales against port angler sampling showed the “percentage of licenses purchased to the number of anglers sampled shown at Tradewinds Depoe Bay are consistently much lower than the rest of the (charter) offices listed.”
Records Sought
According the search affidavit, officers were seeking to search and seize documents, records and registration books for any customers of Tradewinds Charters from March 20, 2012 through March 20, 2015 including bank records, computers cash registers, credit card machines and other documents. The warrant included both the Tradewinds office and 11 boats. Suspect crimes listed in the warrant are theft, theft by deception and aiding in a wildlife offense.
Ongoing Investigation
To date, no charges have been filed. Oregon State Police Sgt. Todd Thompson, who supervises the OSP Newport Area Command Fish and Game officers, declined to comment on the case other than to confirm troopers had served the search warrant. “The investigation is ongoing and we have nothing to release until that is concluded,” Thompson said.
Contacted by phone, Tim Harmon said despite requests from his attorney, he had not yet received a copy of the search warrant affidavit and could not comment until after he read it. According to Tradewinds Charters’ voice message and website, the company continues to offer daily whale watching and bottom fishing excursions.
Contact Reporter Larry Coonrod by emailing editor@lincolncountydispatch.com
