Local office had sought $10,000-a-page fine for records violation.
An administrative law judge has drastically reduced penalties sought by federal fishery prosecutors — a $270,000 fine and a one-year shutdown — against a struggling, family fishing-boat business for first-time, technical reporting paperwork violations.
And the judge, who has also significantly trimmed NOAA enforcement sentences against the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, openly questioned NOAA prosecutors for cracking down so heavily for alleged actions that were "not predatory."
Read the complete story at The Gloucester Daily Times.