December 16, 2015 โ WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) โ Last Saturday, December 12, on the Ken Pittman Show on WBSM in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Cause of Action Counselor Stephen Schwartz, discussed a lawsuit that the organization filed against NOAA for their at-sea monitoring program. During the interview, Mr. Schwartz explained that the federal requirement that fishermen fund at-sea-monitors is overly intrusive and too burdensome for the fishing industry.
โThe federal government is making a huge imposition even when top agencies and regional administrators agree that fishermen canโt afford to fund the observers, and more than half of them would go out of business,โ he said.
Mr. Schwartz said that most federal observers do not have the same expertise that fishermen do โ fishermen who have made their living on New England waters often in inclement conditions โ and present a danger to the fishermen by taking up space on the boats, and preventing them from efficiently collecting data on fish stocks.
โIf fishermen were left to their own devices, they would actually protect fish stocks and be more productive,โ he said.
Mr. Schwartz and Cause of Action are arguing that NOAA does not have the power to require that the industry fund the observer program, and that the principles of constitutional law involved have the potential to restructure fishing industry regulations in order to not place the burden solely on fishermen.