October 10, 2017 — And another voice enters the fray.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has weighed in on the debate over the ultimate fate of Carlos Rafael’s seized commercial fishing permits, saying in a letter to NOAA Fisheries the permits should remain in New Bedford.
“It has been reported that (Rafael’s) fishing permits may be cancelled or seized by the federal government and I am urging you to do everything possible to ensure that those permits stay in the port of New Bedford,” Warren wrote to Chris Oliver, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator for fisheries. “Not doing so has the potential to devastate the local economy and effectively punish numerous innocent workers and businesses in New Bedford for Mr. Rafael’s crimes.”
Warren’s position aligns her with New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, who has led the campaign to keep Rafael’s permits in New Bedford. Other public officials, such as Gov. Charlie Baker, have called for the seized Rafael permits to be redistributed to Massachusetts fishermen.