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St. John, NB - Linda Greenlaw, speaking Thursday to reporters on the St. John's waterfront, said she has been proud over her career of obeying fisheries laws. (CBC)
An American fishing captain best known for her depiction in the book The Perfect Storm and the film on which it was based has been convicted in a St. John’s courtroom of illegally fishing in Canadian waters. Linda Greenlaw maintained that when a Canadian fisheries patrol plane caught her boat the Sea Hawk in Canadian waters last September, she was there by mistake. Her crew had been searching for swordfish. She said miles of her fishing lines had been accidentally cut and dragged about five miles (about eight kilometres) into Canadian jurisdiction. “This line, which is drawn on a piece of paper, you can’t see it when you’re fishing and working on deck,” Greenlaw said outside provincial court. “There’s no fence. There’s no blinking lights,” said Greenlaw, who provided key information about a fatal 1991 storm in the Atlantic Ocean to journalist Sebastian Junger for his book The Perfect Storm. She was portrayed in the hit movie by actor Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio. Judge Joe Woodrow said he believed that Greenlaw had made an honest mistake, but he then said it was a mistake a reasonable skipper would not have made, because she should have checked her GPS equipment. Woodrow convicted on counts of illegally entering Canadian waters as well as illegally fishing here. The Crown said it wants Greenlaw to be fined $50,000. Her lawyer is recommending half that amount. Greenlaw said either decision will hurt her, as well as her crew. “It’s a lot of money. It’s a lot of money to be writing a cheque, to pay the crew or whatever,” she said. “But beyond the money, I’ve been convicted of two offenses.” Greenlaw noted that she was catching swordfish, a species that has little commercial value in Canada. |
