May 25, 2012 – Congressman John Tierney has asked the federal Commerce Department Inspector General to investigate whether the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration "may be proactively pursuing the criminal prosecution of fishermen under seldom-invoked laws."
Tierney's Wednesday letter to Inspector General Todd Zinser was accompanied by a copies of criminal indictments or bills of particulars for alleged violations that according to a redacted message from an attorney have previously been handled as civil cases under the provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the overriding statute for the nation's fisheries.
In his letter to Zinser, Tierney wrote that the spate of criminal cases for fishing violations seemed to reflect a change in policy. The congressman, a former Essex County district attorney, noted that statistics provided by NOAA indicate that over the three years ending 2009, out of 1,589 cases investigated under Magnuson, 1,546 (or 97 percent) were handled as civil complaints.
In addition, Tierney sent the IG a copy of a June 15, 2010, letter from a high Justice Department official to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco proposing a conference with a single-subject agenda — "(building) on the successful work we have done together, particularly in the area of criminal enforcement."
Read the full story at the Gloucester Times.