A federal judge today barred the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from forcing a shutdown of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction before final adjudication of the allegation in U.S. District Court.
NOAA law enforcement had announced the intended 10-day shutdown in June and trumpeted the action as if it were a fait accompli, based on the NOAA chief administrator’s upholding of the agency’s own finding through its administrative legal system.
The ruling leaves the auction, the linchpin business for the Gloucester and Gulf of Maine fishing industries, free to remain open in the foreseeable future, but does nothing to affect three different allegations which together could force the business to shutdown for close to six months down the line.
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.
See also: Gloucester seafood auction wins reprieve from 10-day closure.