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Fishing industry says attacks on monitors rare |
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NEW BEDFORD — Members of the local fishing industry Monday said assaults by fishermen on the federal monitors who observe the catch are extremely rare.
The industry members' observation comes in the wake of the Friday assault conviction of Captain Richard Wetherell, 61, from Jamestown, R.I. Wetherell, who was a captain of the Jessica and Susan out of New Bedford, is now looking at a possible jail sentence after he pleaded guilty Friday in federal court to assaulting and intimidating two monitors assigned to his boat to collect fishing data in July 2010. He is scheduled for sentencing in April. While commercial fishermen are frequently unhappy with the federal government's role in overseeing their industry, clashes between crew members and the fishery monitors do not happen very often, according to industry members The Standard-Times spoke with. Read the complete story in The Standard-Times
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HASTINGS: Time to improve the Endangered Species Act
May 18, 2012 - When the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was signed into law in 1973 by President Nixon, he spoke about the importance of preserving “the rich array of animal life with which our country has been blessed.” I believe that goal is as important today as it was back then. However, after nearly 40 years, it’s time to take a fresh, honest look at the law and consider whether there are ways it could be improved to do a better job of protecting and recovering species.