The mayors of the region's two leading fishing ports Wednesday said a special master's report on miscarriages of justice by federal fisheries law enforcers described an "un-American" system that presumed guilt, and seemed consistent with a disrespectful view of fishermen they said permeates high levels of the agency.
"The penalties were shakedowns," said Mayor Scott Lang of New Bedford.
"The coercion was remarkable," added Mayor Carolyn Kirk of Gloucester. "It's unimaginable that this could be happening in America."
"Normally," Lang added, "people go to jail, but here they get transferred to a better climate."
In a joint interview with the Times, taped Wednesday for broadcast today at 10:15 a.m. on WBSM-AM, 1420, (and WBSM.com outside of the New Bedford metropolitan area), the mayors were in agreement that the response by US Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco was superficial, insincere and unlikely to bring about meaningful reform.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Times.