The city cited an e-mail from the sector's policy analyst to NOAA indicating a direct role in formulating the language of Amendment 16, which established catch shares and sector management in the Northeast.

"Thus the beneficiary of a proposed regulation was allowed to craft the very regulation from which it stood to benefit," the cities argued.

"This e-mail demonstrated the ongoing relationship between the defendants and the Fixed Gear and Hook Sectors — a relationship from which plaintiffs were excluded, that gave these sectors special access to the decision-makers and the ability to effect regulatory change that benefited them.

Read the complete story from The South Coast Today.