Consolidated lawsuits now pending in U.S. District Court brought by fishermen, the cities of Gloucester and New Bedford, and other industry representatives are challenging the imposition of the catch share system.
As part of that suit, the plaintiffs are seeking the right to conduct "discovery" of communications and any collaboration between federal officials and environmental groups like Conservation Law Foundation , the Environmental Defense Fund and the Pew Environmental Group in crafting the catch share policy, to see if those groups had any undue influence.
But Conservation Law Foundation is seeking to block that discovery, by filing a brief against it. The simple fact that the group is trying to keep its involvement secret means it has something to hide.
It is bad enough that the catch share system will likely either drive out the small businessmen who have been the backbone of the industry or turn them into sharecroppers working under the thumb of large corporate interests. It is worse that the process used to draft the new rules was seriously flawed and based on faulty science.
Read the complete editorial from The Salem News.