September 7, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD — Within the past 10 days, the Conservation Law Foundation sent three letters to various individuals involved — either directly or indirectly — with the Carlos Rafael case.

The foundation doesn’t represent any party directly, but its goal is to “use the law, science and the market to create solutions that preserve our natural resources, build healthy communities, and sustain a vibrant economy,” according to its website.

CLF sees Rafael’s guilty plea in March to illegal fishing as infringing on its principles.

“Discovering there’s been someone who has been systematically trying to undercut management, from our perspective not only harms the fisheries but also the work we’ve done,” senior counsel for CLF Peter Shelley said.

Shelley drafted all three letters. The first, he sent Aug. 29 to the New England Fishery Management Council’s Chair John Quinn and Executive Director Thomas Nies.

The second was addressed to NOAA’s John Bullard, the regional administrator, and Joe Heckwolf, an enforcement attorney, was sent Sept. 1.

The final letter, dated Sept. 6, was addressed to Judge William Young, who presided over Rafael’s plea agreement and will sentence the New Bedford fishing giant on Sept. 25 and 26.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times