Millions of pounds of lobster caught by Massachusetts fishermen are shipped to Canada for processing — mostly because a decades-old law prohibits the meat from being prepared locally. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
The bully pulpit for the commercial fishing industry was a crowded place on Wednesday, when past and present Massachusetts attorneys general made their way to Gloucester to meet with one of their most fervent and beleaguered constituencies. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
In crisis mode, angry and worried, as many as 40 parties — fishing industry plaintiffs and their attorneys from North Carolina to Maine — are scheduled to participate in a conference call Friday to discuss whether to appeal a federal judge’s decision upholding a radical reorganization of the groundfishery. Read more on the Gloucester Daily…
The state’s U.S. senators, and congressional representatives of Gloucester and New Bedford Thursday wrote to “implore” Commerce Secretary Gary Locke to make public the findings of a special master’s report on the most egregious cases of law enforcement misconduct against the fishing industry. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
Forged in independence, laid low by regulatory constraints, America’s original fishing port told its story in many voices from many perspectives Tuesday, appealing to one arm of the U.S. Commerce Department for relief to help survive the harm done by another. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
Gloucester’s state lawmakers have launched a campaign for a special federal prosecutor to investigate possible criminal behavior by national fisheries enforcement agents, who seized assets from and fined fishermen and then spent the money. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
The state’s legislative leadership and coastal caucus have petitioned Massachusetts’ congressional delegation to back a plan setting aside some $96 million from the fiscal 2011 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration budget to compensate subjects of miscarriages of justice against the fishing industry. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
State Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante, who triggered waves of demands for the IG to step in after NOAA police undertook a third major case against the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction in early 2009, said “any evidence of misuse of funds and violation of regulations should be prosecuted.” Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
Gloucester’s legislative team will host a meeting tomorrow evening for people considering joining the fishing industry in Washington, D.C. next week to ask that Congress grant relief from inflexible deadlines for fish stock recoveries. Read more on the Gloucester Daily Times website→
As the Department of Commerce Inspector General’s office investigates the enforcement practices of federal fishing regulators — and as fishermen out of Gloucester and throughout New England brace for a sea change in the industry’s regulatory system — city and local legislative leaders are organizing a community show of support for local fishermen and the…