Report released Thursday, January 22, 2010, by Commerce Department's Inspector General highlights problems with NOAA's enforcement of fishing rules- particularly in Northeast Region
NORTH CHATHAM, MA: The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association expressed disappointment today with the findings of the recently published Inspector General's report on the practices of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Fisheries Law Enforcement. The federal inquiry, which was undertaken after continuous complaints on the part of the fishing industry, found that the enforcement of complicated fisheries regulations was too often arbitrary and that fundamental reform is needed, especially in the Northeast.
"No one in the fishery is surprised by this at all- we've all known it, lived it for years," said Harwich commercial fisherman Bob Keese. "The fishermen have always been treated like they're guilty until proven innocent. It's just not right."
Read the entire press release from the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman's Associtation.