BOSTON, Mass. — December 14, 2012 — The acting U.S. Commerce Secretary on Friday ordered federal regulators to return about $544,000 in unjust fines collected from 14 fishermen or fishing businesses, most of whom worked Northeast waters.
Secretary Rebecca Blank also directed the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to forgive about $150,000 in debt related to sanctions given to two complainants.
Her decisions followed the second phase of a probe into persistent complaints from New England fishermen of abusive treatment and excessive fines by the officers and attorneys who enforce the nation's fishing laws.
Blank's decision means nearly $1.2 million in unfair penalties has now been ordered returned to fishermen. In May 2011, the Commerce Secretary ordered $650,000 in unjust fines given back.
New Bedford fishing boat owner Carlos Rafael, who will receive $17,500 back after Blank's order, said he was pleased to get anything, given the industry's ongoing struggles. But he said the bigger victory is accountability for fisheries' officers.
"Even if I didn't get any money, the world is watching them," he said. "Before nobody was watching them. … Before they were like the Gestapo. Before you were (automatically) guilty, the party was over."
The 15-month investigation covered cases between March 1994 and February 2010. It included interviews with people who absorbed five, six and even seven figure fines for violations, ranging from paperwork problems to allegedly fishing in closed areas. A total of 93 cases were reviewed, and Blank ordered money returned or debt forgiven in 27 cases — 23 of which originated in the Northeast.
In a memo accompanying his 554-page report, special investigator Charles Swartwood said fishery police and attorneys assessed unreasonable penalties and, in some cases, jacked up fines to pressure fishermen to settle at lesser amounts.
Blank said in the memo that enforcement officers who abused their power did a disservice to the majority who acted professionally. She noted the complaints verified by Swartwood in both reports make up less than 1 percent of the enforcement work done during the review period.
"This decision concludes the department's review of past cases, but our commitment to strong, effective and trusted fisheries law enforcement will continue," she wrote.
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