The Standard-Times has called for fishermen from New Bedford and Gloucester to "do what farmers did with their tractors in the 1970s" and bring their protest to Washington with a peaceful floating protest on the Potomac. The newspaper accused Commerce Secretary Gary Locke of "passing the buck" to the New England Fishery Management Council, an organization they called "a deeply dysfunctional mishmash of environmentalists, fishing interests and political appointees."
The paper argues that fishermen deserve "a full investigation by Congress and the Commerce Department's inspector general" as "[n]either a letter from the governor nor the urging of members of Congress has made a difference."
Last Friday, Commerce Department Secretary Gary Locke refused a request from Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick to allow higher catch limits than those authorized by the New England Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries. The governor backed his request with Federal scientific data analyzed by the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries which showed the Commerce Secretary could allow higher levels without risking overfishing of stocks.
The paper stated "Imminent disaster for the New Bedford fleet seems to be no problem for federal fishing regulators and their overseers at the U.S. Department of Commerce, who don't much care whether Northeastern fishermen survive or not. All they care about is making their own lives easier by passing the buck to the New England Fishery Management Council."
The paper called the New England Fisheries Managment Council "a deeply dysfunctional mishmash of environmentalists, fishing interests and political appointees."
The paper called Secretary Locke's decision "a procedural excuse."
The paper continued:
"… to Locke, the important thing isn't the scientific value of the data and their ability to right real-world wrongs being perpetrated against fishermen but the possibility that his decision could be viewed as an overruling of the council. Locke acknowledged in October that the Magnuson-Stevens Act gives him the authority to issue emergency regulations to raise catch limits."
"Likewise, Eric C. Schwaab, top fisheries administrator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which answers to Commerce, has chosen not to take reasonable steps to help New England fishermen. He puts on a good show when he visits New Bedford, then behaves in an adversarial manner when he returns to Washington. Schwaab wrote a longer, more detailed letter accompanying the one Locke sent to Patrick, laying out the same points."
"Forgive the fishermen if they have some doubts about NOAA. In July, the Commerce Department's inspector general found that NOAA law enforcement had misspent fines collected from fishermen, using the money for ridiculous luxury purchases, including a $300,000 undercover boat, personal cars for employees in the law enforcement division regardless of need, and a trip for 15 to Norway for a conference."
Read the complete editorial from the Standard-Times