It is time for all of those remaining who represent the interests of Cape Ann to step up to fight for fishermen’s rights — like the right to go about their trade without lobbyist-driven science and renegade enforcement agents driving them out of business. As Kennedy himself put it, "the cause endures." It must.
While it was Massachusetts state legislators who first demanded that the Inspector General investigate alleged vindictive prosecutions of fishermen, it really bore fruit when Kennedy’s office got behind it and a letter to NOAA head Jane Lubchenco. And it was Kennedy’s influence that helped prompt Lubchenco to soften the current regulatory regime known as the "Interim Rule" that initially held even tighter fishing constraints.
As Gloucester residents know — especially by the dwindling number who still go down to the sea in ships — Kennedy was a true champion for fishermen. And in their fight against heavy-handed regulations and excessive federal enforcement tactics, Gloucester’s, New England’s and the nation’s fishermen need a champion now more than ever.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.