Enforcement

"On the Outer Banks," said Susan West, a reporter who writes for the Outer Banks Sentinel, "yes, I think the feelings are nearly universal."

She said the attitude of law enforcement, which is part of a regional regime based in Gloucester, is to treat the fishermen as if they are outlaws or serfs, subject to the whims of the lords and masters and entrapped over and over again by irreconcilable regulations that bring them fines and penalties out of proportion to the severity of the crimes.

"Intimidation" is a constant quality of the federal-fisherman relationship, said Sean McKeon, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association. He said the NOAA officers often behave like fictional "Smokeys" who enjoy using the authority of the badge.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

July 21 – Federal inspectors conducting a review of fisheries law enforcement could turn their attention to North Carolina.

"We will go wherever information relevant to the review takes us," said Assistant Inspector General for Investigations Scott Berenberg at the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Berenberg heads an investigation into allegations that the law enforcement branch of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Fisheries Service routinely uses "excessive penalties and retaliatory actions" in enforcing federal fishing laws.

Read the complete story at The Outer Banks Sentinel.

The law enforcement office of the federal fisheries service undertook an aggressive, preemptive media campaign last month to inform the public of its decision to penalize the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction with a 10-day closure for a disputed violation of a 6-year-old probation agreement.

"The press release on this matter was designed to ensure that all relevant factual information was made available to the public," wrote NOAA enforcement attorney Mitch MacDonald, in a judicially demanded affidavit on the purpose of the campaign.

But yesterday — a day after a federal judge issued a restraining order on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and sharply chastised the service for attempting to impose punishment before the case was resolved in federal court — the NOAA media machine went silent.

There was no followup press release to correct the misinformation in the first one, and no one anywhere to offer an explanation for the agency’s handing of the auction case — even though although NOAA director Jane Lubchenco was in Boston for a speech.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

The Newburyport Daily News has called for "a major housecleaning at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration."

The paper observes that "for years, there have been complaints" thatNOAA has "become heavy-handed, unreasonable and vindictive" and now"the news coming from sworn affidavits in U.S. District Court last weekconfirms that these complaints are not just allegations…"

The paper’s editorial says "it is clear that NOAA is populated byagents with an agenda that goes well beyond … the even-handedenforcement of the law. Not only has the agency sought to imposepunishment before its allegations are adjudicated, it sought tomanipulate public opinion about the industry by manipulating themedia…. A federal judge went so far as to call it tantamount to’Gestapo justice’."

Read "Fishery agency’s ‘Gestapo justice’ needs to end" at the Newburyport Daily News.

U.S. District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock delivered some key messages from his bench in a Boston federal courtroom Monday. But, in granting an injunction to the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction against its National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration enforcers, and in delivering some harsh words to NOAA’s federal prosecutors, Judge Woodlock may have inadvertently turned the spotlight on another issue that’s never been clearer:

It’s time for a major house cleaning within the enforcement arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

For years, there have been complaints that the agency enforcing commercial fishing regulations has become heavy-handed, unreasonable and vindictive in its sanctions against the fishing industry in Gloucester and elsewhere. It is now clearer than ever that NOAA is populated by agents with an agenda that goes well beyond their mission. Not only has the agency sought to impose punishment before its allegations are adjudicated, it sought to manipulate public opinion about the industry by manipulating the media. And those are moves that cannot be tolerated.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

A federal judge in Boston has granted a request by the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction to suspend a 10-day closure of the auction ordered by federal fisheries regulators.

US District Judge Douglas Woodlock granted the exchange’s request for a temporary injunction on Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration sent the auction, the main clearinghouse for fish brought into Gloucester, a letter in June ordering the closure for falsifying records involving illegally landed cod.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

The Coast Guard will conduct a two-week test and evaluation of a new aircraft-mounted search radar July 21-30, 2009, affecting commercial fisherman with the Vessel Monitoring System.

Commercial fishing boats equipped with VMS in the radar testing areas may experience VMS polling signals as often as every 10 minutes.  This increase in signal activity is for testing purposes only, and is not associated with targeted fisheries enforcement. Fishing vessels will not be charged for the increased VMS polling rate.

Coast Guard aircraft participating in the testing and evaluation are the HC-130 Hercules and HC-144 Ocean Sentry.  These aircraft support typical air missions such as search and rescue, law enforcement, maritime domain awareness, living marine resources, International Ice Patrol, and marine environmental protection.

Read the complete story at Military.com

A federal judge today barred the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from forcing a shutdown of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction before final adjudication of the allegation in U.S. District Court.

NOAA law enforcement had announced the intended 10-day shutdown in June and trumpeted the action as if it were a fait accompli, based on the NOAA chief administrator’s upholding of the agency’s own finding through its administrative legal system.

The ruling leaves the auction, the linchpin business for the Gloucester and Gulf of Maine fishing industries, free to remain open in the foreseeable future, but does nothing to affect three different allegations which together could force the business to shutdown for close to six months down the line.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

See also: Gloucester seafood auction wins reprieve from 10-day closure.

 

A federal judge today granted the injunction request sought by the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, effectively saying the auction will not be facing a government-forced shutdown or other penalties in the immediate future — and that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration cannot enforce penalties it sought last month until the auction’s appeal of a prior violations charge is heard and resolved in U.S. District Court.

Federal District Court Judge Douglas Woodlock also chastised NOAA officials for their handling of the auction case, and for suggesting NOAA chief administrator Jane Lubchenco’s upholding of a guilty finding by the Coast Guard Administrative Law System against the auction was sufficient to treat that as a guilty finding on the violation charges while the auction’s appeal was still pending in U.S. District Court.

The judge, however, also noted that, if the auction is ultimately found guilty of the violations central to the case, any penalties to be served would have to be served consecutively, not concurrently.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s enforcement oflaws meant to protect wild fish stocks is on trial today in federalDistrict Court in Boston, where a judge may rule on the government’sdecade-long prosecution of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.

At issue is whether NOAA’s efforts to close theauction for 10 days on a probation violation is a valid application ofa six-year-old settlement or an act of after-the fact retributionagainst a business that has repeatedly declared its innocence andaccused NOAA of vindictive behavior — and drawn extensive support frompublic officials from here to the State House and the halls of the U.S.Senate.

If the auction wins and its punishment is thrown out,settlements with fishermen from coast to coast will be called intoquestion, weakening the federal government’s ability to enforce the lawand stop overfishing, the assistant U.S. attorney representing NOAA hassaid in court documents.

Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.