The Norton Sound Seafood Products Co. may have gained an economic advantage over its competitors in recent years by not abiding by EPA regulations. The company was discovered to have not met the EPA’s reporting or record-keeping requirements; it also failed to adequately monitor grinders, its waste-conveyance system, and the shore where waste is released, the EPA found during an inspection in 2016.

The seafood company will pay a penalty of more than $50,000 for the violations that led to the improper discharge of fish processing waste into Norton Sound.

The EPA says that in addition to minimizing a seafood processor’s impact on the environment, its regular inspections ensure that companies do not enjoy an unfair economic advantage over its “permit-abiding competitors.”