Two weeks ago, Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank announced he would not seek re-election, opting to retire. Fishermen – regardless of their political leanings – know they are losing one of their biggest allies. While the representative has been attacked by Republican legislators for his stance on Wall Street, or Fannie Mae, he has always worked with them when it came to defending the rights of fishermen.
Often know for his creatively witty remarks, the ultra- liberal Frank has recently bucked political lines, parting ways with the Obama administration when it came to fishermen. In fact, redistricting of Massachusetts as a result of the census carved New Bedford out of his territory. He cited the incident as one of the reasons he opted to retire.
To his credit, he has advocated for a federal investigation that discovered gross mismanagement in the federal office that enforces fishery law in Gloucester, that led hundreds of thousands of dollars of unjust fines being returned to some fishermen. NOAA officials even were forced to apologize.
He has worked with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine to change fishery law in 2010, so that fishermen could catch more yellowtail flounder.
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