Two new developments today in New England groundfishermen's fight for their livelihoods:
- Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced this afternoon that her office has filed a federal lawsuit against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the agency that oversees commercial fishing. According to a press release from the Attorney General's office, the lawsuit alleges that federal regulators "used flawed science to over-restrict the Massachusetts fishing industry" and "ignored the devastating economic impact" of severe cuts in cod catch quotas aimed at ending overfishing.
- Fishermen and industry members have sent a petition to Congress asking lawmakers to close NOAA Fishery's Northeast Regional Office in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and use any funds freed up by that move to aid struggling fishermen. NOAA managers paved the way for fishermen to receive federal financial assistance when they declared a federal fishery disaster last fall, but Congress has not yet allocated any funds for that purpose. The Northeast Regional Office is the policy and administrative headquarters for NOAA in New England, and employs approximately 200 people.
