Massachusetts’ Senators on dealing with past enforcement cases

The complete text of Senator John Kerry and Senator Scott Brown's statements to the Gloucester Times on the subject of addressing past excessive penalties and retaliatory enforcement actions.

Also posted are memos from March to and from the inspector General, NOAA Administrator Lubchenco, NOAA Chief Counsel Schiffer, and NMFS Administrator Schwaab in response to the Inspector General's report.  In the March 18 memo from Atty. Schiffer and Mr. Schwaab to Dr. Lubchenco, they write "We are not here re-examining specific cases or data mentioned in the Report or looking at the history of our offices; thus, we have developed no opinions as to the complaints and case-specific allegations mentioned in the Inspector General's Report."

Senator John Kerry (D-Mass.)

“Sometimes you have to look back in order to move forward. In this case, our fishermen absolutely feel that NOAA’s regulations and enforcement can determine their economic survival. There’s no swallowing that if they just don’t trust NOAA.  NOAA’s excessive penalties and retaliatory enforcement actions have caused deep distrust among our fishermen. The Dale Jones scandal was an exclamation point and an underline of what was already a frayed relationship. We need a full accounting of what happened so we can put the pieces back together and move forward together. Transparency and accountability are key parts of rebuilding trust.  I look forward to talking with Secretary Locke about this, about NOAA’s enforcement actions and about the new catch share limits at our meeting later this month, and I’ll continue to continue to work with everyone involved to help resolve the ongoing difficult issues, and help reestablish sustainable fisheries in Massachusetts.”

Senator Scott Brown (R-Mass.)

“NOAA’s apparent disregard for the Inspector General’s report is extremely troubling. I will work with others members of the delegation to fully investigate the reported acts of impropriety, to establish transparency and accountability and set up safeguards to protect our fishermen in the future. As elected officials, it is incumbent upon us to ensure that our hardworking fishermen get a fair shake from NOAA. We need to get to the bottom of the issues raised in the Inspector General report before we can move forward.”

Read the March 18 memos to and from the Inspector General, NOAA Administrator Lubchenco, NOAA Chief Counsel Schiffer, and NMFS Administrator Schwaab (searchable PDF format).