Washington

Regarding the settlements agreed to by boat owners, Lang told The Standard-Times, "People who agreed to these dispositions were in many cases told that if they went ahead, penalties would be far worse if they lost." In that sense, he said, settlements weren't voluntary and need a review.

"Don't stand behind the pretense that these were voluntary actions. There were no voluntary actions. There were no voluntary pleas."

Lang criticized Locke for what he said was using a broken bureaucracy to police itself. And he expressed doubts that Eric Schwaab really will produce a re-examination of the fishing rule-making within the agency.

And he said it was disingenuous of Locke to hold up judicial "finality" as a higher goal than seeking justice in closed cases. The reviewing of judicial decisions "happens all the time," Lang said. Taking the decision about which cases to review out of the special master's authority is "tying his hands," Lang said.

At this point, he said, he has concluded that NOAA needs a top-to-bottom investigation by an outside authority. "There needs to be a full-blown investigation into the entire agency," he said. "The idea that they wouldn't completely take the hood off and look at every single fact pattern is very troubling."

NEW BEDFORD — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has once again denied the appeals of the fishing industry and political leaders, ruling that he will not expand the group of law enforcement cases to be reviewed by the "special master" looking into fisheries law enforcement abuses.

In a five-page memorandum, Locke one by one denied every request for his intervention in the matter. He said he would:

    * Not address cases where no civil penalty was imposed, instead referring them back to NOAA for "lessons learned."
    * Not review any cases that went before a federal judge, citing the need for "finality" in the judicial system.
    * Not address cases that are currently before an administrative law judge or the NOAA administrator, on the grounds that the inspector general's reports so far have made the courts aware of past abuses and will avoid them today.
    * Not address cases that were not brought forward during the investigation by Inspector General Todd Zinser.
    * Not put a hold on payment of civil penalties already assessed.

U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is attending the international economic summit in Davos, Switzerland, told The Standard-Times, "I am appalled at this latest assault on the fishing industry by Gary Locke." Frank was already angry with Locke for "betraying" him by rejecting Gov. Deval Patrick's call for higher fish quotas and financial help for the industry.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

As Daley put it last month, in reference to attempts to reorganize how the bureaucracy works: "No question that unless you've been in the government, you really can't understand how screwed up it is when it comes to these sort of discussions."

Warner said Daley, as a former Cabinet member and as a top executive at JP Morgan Chase, brings a unique perspective.

"He's been in the belly of the beast."

WASHINGTON — It was a big laugh line in President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech: "The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater. I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."

Behind the joke was an ambitious promise to tame and reorganize segments of the federal bureaucracy. If Obama's new chief of staff, Bill Daley, wields any influence, a primary target will be the Commerce Department.

Its 38,000 employees oversee a diverse portfolio, from helping businesses and conducting the census to providing accurate weather forecasts and granting patentsand trademark protection.

Daley knows the department inside and out. He ran it during the Clinton administration.

Early last month, before Obama named Daley as his top aide, a Democratic-leaning think tank that has been a source of many Obama administration policy ideas laid out a plan to streamline the Commerce Department and sharpen its focus on making U.S. businesses more competitive — the new clarion call at the White House.

Read the complete story by Jim Kuhnhnen of the AP at MSNBC.

 

 

 

 

 

When asked whether he has ever been envious of Stevens' stature in Alaska, Young says no, and he asks a staffer to retrieve a framed photo of Stevens kissing Young's ring.

Then, Young launches into a story about the work he did with former Rep. Gerry Studds, D-Mass., to pass the landmark fisheries bill known as the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The 1976 bill created 200-mile exclusive economic zones off the country's coast and led to Alaska's multi-billion dollar fishing industry.

Young said he recognized the need for the legislation during a trip to Kodiak, where whole fleets of foreign fishing vessels were visible at night, just one mile off shore. Then-President Gerald Ford, who was on his way to Asia and refueling in Alaska, invited Young along. Young said he used the long trip on Air Force One to persuade Ford to sign the legislation, over then-Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's concerns about the effect it would have on U.S. ties to Japan.

"I said — and Gerry Ford is a friend of mine — 'Mr. President, with all due respect, that's bull****,'" Young said. "I said, 'they will figure out a way to get the fish, but we will control the seas 200 miles out.'"

"This went on until we got off the airplane," Young said. "On his way back, he signed that bill. And I take credit for that every time. Of course, Ted got it named after him. Am I jealous? No. I didn't really care, as long as it happened."

Read the complete story from The News Tribune.

 

 

 

 

 

Many who have requested information from NOAA, most notably New Bedford Mayor Scott Lang, have complained about the length of time it has taken for responses and also the number of pages withheld by the agency.

Representative Darrell Issa calls it a way to promote transparency: a request for the names of hundreds of thousands of ordinary citizens, business executives, journalists and others who have requested copies of federal government documents in recent years.

Mr. Issa, a California Republican and the new chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, says he wants to make sure agencies respond in a timely fashion to Freedom of Information Act requests and do not delay them out of political considerations.

But his extraordinary request worries some civil libertarians. It “just seems sort of creepy that one person in the government could track who is looking into what and what kinds of questions they are asking,” said David Cuillier, a University of Arizona journalism professor and chairman of the Freedom of Information Committee at the Society of Professional Journalists. “It is an easy way to target people who he might think are up to no good.”

Mr. Issa sent a letter on Tuesday asking 180 federal agencies, from the Department of Defense to the Social Security Administration, for electronic files containing the names of people who requested the documents, the date of their requests and a description of information they sought. For those still pending after more than 45 days, he also asked for any communication between the requestor and the federal agency. The request covers the final three years of Bush administration and the first two years of President Obama’s.

Read the complete story from The New York Times.

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke has once again denied the appeals of the fishing industry and political leaders, ruling that he will not expand the group of law enforcement cases to be reviewed by the “special master” looking into fisheries law enforcement abuses.

In a six-page memorandum, Locke one by one denied every request for his intervention in the matter. He said he would:

— Not address cases where no civil penalty was imposed, instead referring them back to NOAA for “lessons learned.”
— Not review any cases that went before a federal judge, citing the need for “finality” in the judicial system.
— Not address cases that are currently before an administrative law judge or the NOAA administrator, on the grounds that the inspector general's reports so far have made the courts aware of past abuses and will avoid them today.
— Not address cases that were not brought forward during the investigation by Inspector General Todd Zinser.
— Not put a hold on civil penalties already assessed.

New Bedford attorney Pamela Lafreniere, who represents fishermen in such enforcement cases, called Locke's decisions “completely and utterly unfair.” Many fishermen, she said, were afraid to come forward when the inspector general was soliciting cases because they feared retaliation, she said.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.

 

 

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — Members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation today released the following statements in response to the most recent Secretarial Decision Memo by Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.  Secretary Locke’s memo is attached.

SENATOR JOHN KERRY  

“This is a step backwards, and it's unacceptable for Massachusetts. I'm troubled that not only are our fishermen being denied appropriate remedies, but they're being forced to pay fines before their cases are even reviewed. Our fishermen have been unbelievably patient under incredible economic pressure. They’ve come forward with fair, straightforward solutions to redress past wrong-doings by NOAA employees, and I am disappointed with the Secretary’s response. My colleagues and I will not stop working on this until there is a more just outcome for Massachusetts fishermen.”

CONGRESSMAN BARNEY FRANK  

“This decision by the Secretary of Commerce is one more assault on the legitimate concerns of the fishing industry.  We were not asking to intervene in the adjudicatory process.  We requested that where that legal process has demonstrated and proven to be deeply flawed, individuals who have been intimidated from complaining now be given a chance to submit their cases for a wholly impartial review by a special master of the Secretary’s choosing.”   “This refusal to offer a chance at justice to these individuals is another item on the list we will be presenting to the White House in our effort to get President Obama to have his appointed Secretary of Commerce to follow through on promises made last year and to demonstrate a genuine concern for the rights of people in the fishing industry.”  

SENATOR SCOTT BROWN

“The latest decision by Secretary Locke represents the Commerce Department and NOAA’s ongoing effort to ignore past misdeeds by administration officials and move forward without compensating fishermen who were unfairly impacted,” said Senator Brown.  “Fishermen should not be forced to pay such excessive fines until the Special Master has completed his investigation.  If Commerce refuses to own up to its failings an independent investigation will be necessary to right the many wrongs our fishermen have suffered.”

CONGRESSMAN JOHN TIERNEY  

“The Secretary’s latest action serves as further proof that a culture of ‘no’ has taken hold of the Department of Commerce. The Department is unwilling to make any reasonable effort to act in the best interest of our fishermen or our fishing economy,” Congressman Tierney said.  “I will be taking this matter directly to the White House and feel certain a number of my colleagues will join the fight. We must take action to sustain proven industries that keep hard-working Americans employed, while bringing healthy nutrition to our families.”

 

 

 

 

Did anyone else’s ears perk up when Obama called out federal salmon management as his favorite example of government inefficiency?

I checked PolitiFact last night to see if maybe they picked up on the misstatement of who’s actually in charge of salmon. Obama said the Department of Commerce is in charge of salmon in saltwater while the Interior Department is in charge of them when they’re in freshwater.

That’s never quite been the case in my experience. The National Marine Fisheries Service, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Department of Commerce, has always taken the lead on salmon management in the Northwest.

NPR reports Damien Schiff from Pacific Legal Foundation saying, in fact, NMFS is legally in charge of protecting salmon from the gravel to the ocean. The Department of Commerce explicitly has legal jurisdiction over salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act.

The Department of the Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service works with NMFS in restoring freshwater salmon habitat and operating salmon hatcheries, which offset the impacts of dams and bolster salmon fisheries. But they aren’t really in charge. Not on the West Coast, anyway. Unless you’re talking about kokanee – the land-locked salmon.

Read the complete story from Ecotrope.

 

 

 

 

 

David Kennedy has been named NOAA assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service effective immediately. He has served in an acting capacity since January 2010 when John Dunnigan was named a senior policy advisor to the NOAA administrator.  The announcement was made today by under secretary of commerce and NOAA administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco.

“David has served both NOAA and the nation exceptionally well in his NOAA career, and in particular over the past nine months as the overall NOAA response coordinator for the  BP/Deepwater Horizon oil spill response,” said Lubchenco. “His overall experience, coupled with a leadership approach that promotes teamwork to effectively deal with issues are important attributes as we face tremendous challenges in the ocean and coastal environment.  I am delighted he has agreed to fill this important position.”

“I am both honored and pleased to accept this appointment,” said Kennedy. “The National Ocean Service is made up of highly dedicated, enthusiastic and extremely knowledgeable professionals. Over the past few months I have been able to see them directly in action. The Ocean Service is a diverse organization with a wide range of responsibilities involving scientific research, hazmat response and restoration, coastal and resource management and now the center of the national ocean policy, coastal and marine spatial planning. With NOS being the lead for NOAA’s coastal goal their synergy will be extremely important as we move forward.”

Kennedy, a 22-year NOAA career employee, was previously director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM). Included in OCRM’s responsibilities are federal consistency, coordination with state and local coastal zone management programs and the National Estuarine Research Reserves System, the new National System of Marine Protected Areas, and the land acquisition grant program, Coastal and Estuarine Land Conservation Program.

He previously served as director of NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration where he led a multi-disciplinary program to reduce risks to coastal and marine resources from environmental threats, including oil and chemical spills and hazardous waste sites. His duties also included overseeing the Pribilof Islands Remediation and Land Transfer Project, NOAA’s marine debris, coral reef conservation, and emergency response programs.

Kennedy has more than 20 years of experience leading hazardous materials management and response efforts, including coordinating federal scientific response to more than 100 oil and chemical spill incidents, including the Argo Merchant, Amoco Cadiz, IXTOC I oil-well blowout, Presidente Rivera, World Prodigy, and Exxon Valdez. Prior to 1976, Kennedy was director of the spilled oil research team at the University of Alaska Geophysical Institute.

In October 2009, Kennedy’s leadership, innovation, and vision were recognized with a prestigious Presidential Rank Award. And in November 2009, he was recognized in a group award for strong leadership and innovation leading to the completion of the environmental cleanup and historical preservation of the Pribilof Islands.

Kennedy is a native of Oskaloosa, Iowa, and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in anthropology from the University of Northern Colorado. He and his wife, Gini, reside in Capitol Hill in Washington D.C.

See this announcement at NOAA News.

 

 

 

 

 

The National Ocean Council is seeking public input on the development of strategic action plans for the nine priority objectives described in the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force.  These nine objectives seek to address some of the most pressing challenges facing the ocean, our coasts, and the Great Lakes.

On July 19, 2010, President Obama signed Executive Order 13547 establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, our Coasts, and the Great Lakes.  That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them.

To submit your comments, please visit the National Ocean Council website, and to learn more about the National Ocean Council, please click here. 

For more information, please see the Federal Register Notice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are gathered here at a critical time for oceans. Make no mistake: Oceans are changing. They are changing rapidly and radically, with profound consequences for humanity. Hope remains but time is running out. Now is the time for engagement if we wish to redirect the global trajectory and transition to sustainable uses and to healthy oceans and coasts….

The once healthy, productive coastal ocean off the beautiful Pacific Northwest coast became a seasonal dead zone each year due to changing patterns of winds and oceanic circulation that are most likely due to climate change.

From the tropics to the poles, disruption and depletion were playing out in alarming ways. The unintended — but nevertheless very real — consequences of coastal development, overfishing, nutrient pollution and climate change were taking their toll.

As a result, I began to expand my scientific efforts and work with colleagues to develop solutions:

• Ways to use oceans without using them up;
• Ways to reduce nutrient and chemical pollution flowing from the land;
• Ways to farm seafood sustainably;
• Ways to limit and adapt to the impacts of climate change;
• Ways to recover the lost bounty and health of oceans so they can provide the services that people want and need.

The Joint Oceans Commission Initiative, initially led by Admiral Watkins, Leon Panetta, and Bill Ruckelshaus provided champions and a mechanism to promote action. Numerous organizations amplified and developed the messages and new approaches. Congress took action in reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, emphasizing ecosystem-based management and ending overfishing.

NOAA implemented the new rules, mapped essential fish habitat, and developed new methodologies for integrated ecosystem assessments. Academic scientists, fishermen and NGOs provided new analyses and knowledge about sustainable fishing, catch shares and marine reserves. A number of states and communities took up the challenge and began embracing some of the recommendations around marine spatial planning and ecosystem-based management. And neighboring coastal states formed regional alliances to collaborate on ocean efforts.

Progress on multiple fronts provided impetus to create a more systemic and comprehensive framework for effective and integrated federal action. In June of 2009, President Obama established his Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and charged it with making recommendations to ‘enhance national stewardship of the ocean, coasts and Great Lakes and promote the long term conservation and use of these resources’. (editor's note, the Commercial Fishing industry is represented on the Task Force by Dr. Lubchenco, since NMFS is part of NOAA.  There is no other representation for Commercial Fishing interests on the Task Force.)

Led by Nancy Sutley of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, the Task Force engaged 24 senior-level policy officials from across the Federal Government and their staff in an intense effort to work with the public and a wide range of stakeholders and respond to the President’s charge. Many of you participated actively in that effort, to the benefit of the results.