BOSTON, Mass. — December 11, 2015 — In a new lawsuit, regional fishing interests are challenging the legality of a mandate requiring them to carry at-sea monitors on their vessels during fishing trips and to soon begin paying the cost of hosting those federal enforcement contractors.
South Shore fishermen Thursday threw their support behind the lawsuit filed by the nonprofit Cause of Action on behalf of Northeast Fishery Sector 13, which represents fishermen from Massachusetts and New Hampshire down to North Carolina.
Marshfield fisherman Ed Barrett said shifting the cost burden to small fishing boats would “pull the rug out” from under fishermen.
The lawsuit “puts the issue as out-front as it can get,” said Barrett, who is president of the Massachusetts Bay Ground Fishermen’s Association.
In the suit filed in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire against the U.S. Department of Commerce, the plaintiffs are also seeking a preliminary injunction to prevent fishermen from taking on the costs, estimated at hundreds of dollars per day at sea.