HYANNIS, MA – July 21, 2010 – Recreational angler and fishing advocate Patrick Paquette has succeeded in obtaining rare video footage showing activities aboard industrial Atlantic herring trawl vessels. The video was shown at a public fisheries management meeting in June 2009 and documents loopholes in the current monitoring system and bycatch being brought aboard the vessels.
On Monday, a federal judge approved final settlement of a lawsuit that ends a year-long struggle between Mr. Paquette, who represents several recreational fishing organizations in Massachusetts, including the 60-year-old Massachusetts Striped Bass Association, and the nation’s fisheries management agency. At the center of this struggle was the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) interpretation of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).
“This is an important step in making sure the government properly handles requests for public information,” said Paquette. “NMFS has acknowledged that they gave me the run-around, and now they are changing their protocols so this doesn’t happen again. By law, we have a right to know.”
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