While everyone awaits Dr. Jane Lubchencoโs decision regarding federalfishing regulations over the next year, itโs important to note that, bymany counts, the National Marine Fisheries Service continues itsintense enforcement of current mandates.
And while that enforcement is generallycarried out by the U.S. Coast Guard, at least some NMFS enforcement ishandled by the state Environmental Police, whose officers are routinelydeputized for the work.
Now, state Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, andRep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, D-Gloucester, are questioning that practiceโ as well they should. In a letter to state Energy and EnvironmentalAffairs Secretary Ian Bowles, Ferrante and Tarr are questioning thestateโs contract for supplementing NMFS enforcement, and thus thestateโs connection with what the lawmakers call "a growing pattern ofimpropriety and aggression by NMFS law enforcement."
Read the complete story at Gloucester Times.