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Asbury Park Press: Northeast fishermen paid higher fines |
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Federal fisheries enforcement officials sought fines from Northeast
fishermen that in total were five times more than the dollar figures
imposed in most other coastal regions, according to a report by the
Department of Commerce inspector general's office.
Those nearly $5.5 million in fines imposed from 2004 to 2009 were 2.5 times as much as Southeast penalties — and ultimately negotiated down by about 70 percent and settled for $1.6 million, a bigger aggregate reduction than any other region patrolled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement, the report says. "This regional disparity fosters an appearance that fine assessments in the Northeast region are arbitrary," wrote reviewers from the Department of Commerce, NOAA's parent agency. Federal enforcement of fishing regulations contribute "to a highly charged regulatory climate and dysfunctional relationship . . . particularly in the Northeast" between government and the fishing industry, the report says. |
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33 Fishing Community Members Say Permit Bank, Giacalone are pluses for Gloucester
This permit bank is a true local treasure for our fishing community and related businesses. Its existence has been one of the only positive things to come to this fishing community in decades.
