U.S. Commerce Secretary Gary Locke was in Maine, where he repeated assurances that he will crack down on what are described as "questionable" penalties assessed against New England fishermen by fisheries enforcement officers. After meeting in the morning with the governor of Massachusetts, Congressman Barney Frank and officials from the fishing industry, Locke moved on to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute in Portland, where he met with fishermen who support his scrutiny of the enforcement arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA.
Also at the meeting was Maine Sen. Olympia Snowe, a senior member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, who says fines should be returned to fishermen, if necessary.
"I think they have to go back and look at every single case, and everyone who paid into it, examining all these issues, all the fines that were paid and they should return the money, yes, to those individuals, absolutely," she says. "I think that that is the least that the department ought to be responsible for doing."
Listen to the broadcast from The Maine Public Broadcasting Network.