The Commonwealth of Massachusetts Thursday formally joined the hub fishing ports of Gloucester and New Bedford and a coalition of industry interests from Maine to North Carolina, challenging the Obama administration's groundfish regulatory regimen in federal district court.
The filings by state Attorney General Martha Coakley for Gov. Deval Patrick accuse the federal government of violating four national standards written into the 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and illegally hurting the economy of the industry and fishing communities.
The latest version of Magnuson simultaneously commanded an expeditious restoration of overfished stocks, while also directing the effort to involve the optimal sustainable yield to the fishing industry.
The filing by the attorney general for the governor also accused the federal government of violating Magnuson's required use of "best scientific information available," while minimizing "adverse economic impacts" on the fishing communities.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.