A commercial fishing company paid a $100,000 settlement for running a boat aground off Santa Cruz Island in late 2022, causing more than 1,000 gallons of fuel to spill into the ocean.

Captain Jason Lapeyri fell asleep while operating the Ocean Angel VI squid fishing vessel, crashing it into Santa Cruz Island at 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 15, 2022, according to a civil complaint that the District Attorney’s Office filed in Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

The civil complaint said the captain had slept for only three hours in the two days before the crash. He had gone out for squid fishing on Dec. 13, returned to the Ventura Harbor at 3 a.m. on Dec.14, and then left for the next trip around noon that day.

At 2:30 a.m., while heading toward Chinese Harbor from Prisoner’s Harbor on Santa Cruz Island, Lapeyri fell asleep and ran the vessel aground. Rocks on the island punctured the hull of the vessel, spilling approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 300 gallons of hydraulic fluid into the ocean, according to the civil complaint.

A sheen from the oil was noticeable in the ocean for about a mile, and birds were covered in oil, according to the complaint.

Ocean Angel VI, the vessel company, paid $100,000 to resolve violations of the Government Code, the Fish and Game Code, and the Health and Safety Code. Of the $100,000, $20,000 will fund supplemental environmental projects, $15,000 will go to the California Hazardous Materials Investigators Association to train hazardous materials spills personnel, and $5,000 will go to the Channel Islands Marine & Wildlife Institute to rehabilitate injured marine wildlife.

“This case is yet another reminder of what can happen when individuals operate motorized vehicles — both on land and at sea — without proper sleep. We are grateful that no persons were injured as a result of this incident, but the environmental harm was substantial and could have easily been avoided,” Santa Barbara County District Attorney John Savrnoch said in a statement.

“Hopefully this incident serves as a reminder to those who operate commercial fishing vessels of how important it is to implement appropriate sleep and rest policies.”