In a letter dated February 4, 2011, Senator Gillibrand (D-NY) wrote to Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, expressing her belief that "the decision made to limit the scope of cases being reviewed by the special master to only those fishermen who were included in the Inspector General's investigation, will hurt many in the fishing community who believe that they have a legitimate case against NOAA.”
She continues, "Additionally, your decision to not grant stays for civil penalties for complainants currently being reviewed by the Special Master is equally disheartening. Some of these penalties are upwards of several thousand dollars. During these difficult economic times, it seems just to provide some flexibility for those individuals who have been successful in securing a review of their case."