Federal inspectors from the nation’s capital — evaluating "allegations of excessive penalties and retaliatory actions" against New England fishermen by fishery law enforcement and regulatory officials based here — are set to begin private interviews with fishermen and their representatives on Monday.
A team of five from the Inspector General’s Office in the U.S. Department of Commerce, where fishery regulation is based, will be on the North Shore for an uncertain period.
An e-mail sent to contacts offering testimony and evidence of mistreatment at the hands of the fishery service’s agents indicated that separate surveys will be scheduled for residents of New York, Pennsylvania and North Carolina.