On the surface, it's good to learn that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke has vowed to take some very basic steps to address the many injustices carried out by agents of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration against fishermen and related waterfront businesses.
But before there's any celebrating — or real sighs of relief that the fishing industry has finally gotten some logical response from its government — it's important to look closely at the reforms Locke has vowed to set in motion, and keep a close eye out for how he and others go about making these promises a reality.
The good news, of course, is that Locke — in direct contradiction of both NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco, who was nowhere to be found during his Monday visit through New England, and Lois Schiffer, the chief NOAA counsel — promised there would be a review of past cases involving the excessive penalties and tactics used by NOAA enforcement agents as cited by the Commerce Department's inspector general.
Read the complete editorial from The Gloucester Times.