“The attorneys did their jobs. They enforced the laws, assessed penalties according to NOAA’s guidelines and received awards and recognition for their work,” said Dan Sobien, president of the NWSEO. “Now they are being used as scapegoats because lawbreakers are unhappy with the enforcement of a law that Congress passed.”

The IG investigation is the result of a complaint from several Massachusetts state lawmakers, including one whose firm has defended the fishing industry in NOAA enforcement proceedings, and a letter from several members of the Massachusetts Congressional delegation complaining of excessive penalties assessed against commercial fishing interests who have broken the law.

The NOAA enforcement attorneys, who have received a combined total of 38 performance awards for their enforcement actions since 2002, follow agency guidelines and the penalty schedule established by NOAA found at http://www.gc.noaa.gov/docs.html#gcel. The performance awards include cases which are part of the IG investigation, such as the multiple enforcement actions against the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.

Rather than being excessive, penalties assessed in the Northeast Region may still be too low to enforce the law. Recent scientific reports show that despite enforcement efforts, penalties in the northeast region are not large enough to deter systemic over-fishing (“Rational Noncompliance and the Liquidation of Northeast Groundfish Resources” by D. King and J. Sutinen). Economic gains from violating fishing regulations are nearly five times the economic value of expected penalties. According to the report, up to 24 percent of the total harvest in the northeast region is taken illegally. For commercial fisheries that do break the law, the fines have become a small cost of doing business.

“I have adhered strictly to the statutes, regulations and agency policies governing the prosecution of marine resource violators. In my 28 years of service, I have never had a single negative review from the NOAA management attorneys for whom I work. Further, I have earned some of the highest honors bestowed upon people who prosecute federal fisheries cases,” said Charles Juliand, one of the attorneys under investigation, and recipient of the Department of Commerce’s Gold Medal Award “for distinguished achievement in the federal service.”

Click here for NWSEO’s complete response to the Inspector General’s report.

Statement from NOAA Enforcement Attorney Charles Juliand.