On 16 February, CBS News devoted some four minutes to an investigative piece into the scandal that should have rocked NOAA and the Obama administration last fall. Our government is driving the fishing industry into oblivion with "unduly complicated" regulations and with federal agents who are "overzealous" and prone to "abusive conduct."
The piece opened with Bill Lee, a fisherman from Rockport, MA, who has been forced out of business by the fines levied by NOAA. Mr. Lee is articulate and the photogenic background of Motif No. 1 is emblematic of New England. CBS got the sound bite but they are constrained by time. A more in depth coverage of Mr. Lee's ordeal is given in Richard Gaines' article in the Gloucester Times.
Mr. Keteyian next spoke to Richard Burgess, another fisherman. Mr. Burgess told of being fined $27,000 for a paperwork error and being told that if he contested the fine, it could go up to $125,000 or more. You can view Mr. Burgess' testimony to Congress on that incident and others at the link. Mr. Burgess said on camera to CBS, "[We are] hardworking people and we've been treated as common criminals." Ouch!
Read the complete story from American Thinker.