Congressman John Tierney (D-MA) has announced that an oversight field hearing on the fisheries enforcement programs of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will be held Tuesday, March 2, at 11 a.m. at Gloucester City Hall, 9 Dale Ave.
Among the witnesses will be NOAA head Jane Lubchenco, Commerce Dept. Inspector General Todd Zinser, and Dale Jones, director of NOAA’s Office for Law Enforcement. A second panel of witnesses will include Gloucester fisherman Richard Burgess, attorney Stephen Ouellette, and Jim Kendall of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, a former scallop fisherman and former two-term New England Fishery Council member.
Upon Tierney’s urging, Oversight and Government Reform Domestic Policy Subcommittee Chairman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) agreed to hold the hearing in Gloucester on behalf of the City of Gloucester and fishing communities nationwide. Kucinich and Tierney are expected to attend, along with fellow Domestic Policy Subcommittee member Congressman Barney Frank.