Three Alaska fishers plead guilty after being accused of deliberately scuttling boats

Boats in Sitka’s Crescent Harbor are seen on a clear winter day in 2024. (Meghan Chamberlain/U.S. Forest Service)

By James Brooks

Alaska Beacon

Three Southeast Alaska commercial fishers accused of deliberately sinking their boats are now pleading guilty.

John Fisher of Sitka, Joseph Poling of Petersburg and Tony Vanveen of Sitka have each signed plea deals, according to documents filed with the U.S. District Court in the District of Alaska.

The three were initially charged earlier this year by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Anchorage. Despite similar details, the cases are not linked.

Fisher, whose plea deal was finalized on Aug. 27, was sentenced to 1 month in prison and one year on supervised release. 

According to court documents, Fisher deliberately scuttled the fishing vessel Igloo near Sitka in March 2025 and admitted doing so to the U.S. Coast Guard.

“The navigable waters of Southeast Alaska are especially precious to the communities who depend on them,” said a sentencing memorandum signed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jack Schmidt. “Illegally scuttling vessels creates risk to the environment and can create a hazard to navigation if done carelessly.”

By phone, Schmidt said it appeared as if Fisher was trying to dispose of his boat but forgot about the boat’s EPIRB — the emergency beacon that automatically deploys and messages the Coast Guard if a boat sinks.

When the Coast Guard contacted Fisher, he admitted sinking the Igloo.

Alaska has a chronic problem with abandoned and derelict vessels; maintaining boats is expensive, and disposing of an unseaworthy boat is also expensive. 

The Alaska Department of Natural Resources has a list of more than 400 abandoned boats on state land and waters.

Poling pleaded guilty on Aug. 7 and is scheduled to have his sentence imposed Oct. 29. The Anchorage U.S. Attorney’s office is recommending a fine of $6,000 and five years of probation for sinking the fishing vessel Leeward in Thomas Bay, northeast of Petersburg.

Tony Vanveen entered his guilty plea on July 27 and is scheduled to have his sentence imposed on Oct. 29 as well. Prosecutors are recommending 30 days in prison and one year of supervised release for sinking the motor vessel O’Kisutch in late September or early October 2025.

• James Brooks Cascade is a longtime Alaska reporter who lives in Juneau. He previously worked at the Anchorage Daily News, Juneau Empire, Kodiak Mirror and Fairbanks Daily News-Miner. Alaska Beacon is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization.