Questions were raised last week after the Gloucester Times published a story about a NOAA Fisheries attorney Charles Juliand, whose pursuit of a $50,000 cash settlement from a Rhode Island commercial fisherman, Greg Duckworth, was termed an "inflexible demand for cash".

Saving Seafood has obtained and published all of the correspondence between Mr. Juliand of NOAA and Mr. Duckworth's attorney, and makes the files available so that readers can judge for themselves.

According to the Gloucester Times, Juliand's rejection of offers by Greg Duckworth to surrender his federal groundfishing permit in lieu of cash, and Juliand's rejection of any installment payment plan have  taken on what one private attorney has called "provocative" overtones as questions swirl around the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's dependence on the fines captured from fishermen to fund overseas travel by agents and operational spending by NOAA's Office of General Counsel.

"Excessive fines are normal," said Gloucester-based fisheries attorney Stephen Ouellette. "Regulatory compliance is less important to them than collecting money for their expenses."

Read the original documents and see a link to the original Gloucester Daily Times story.