Much of the New England fishing industry is going through the wrenching transition from every-man-for-himself to a system of sharing the region’s allowable catch of depleted species. Making this work will require trust between boat crews and federal fisheries regulators. Two reports detailing questionable practices by the regulators leave their boss, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco, no option but to clean house where needed and insist on the highest standards.
New England fishermen have long complained of overzealous enforcement of the complex rules governing allowable catches, and a recent report by the inspector general of the Commerce Department backed them up...
Read the rest of this editorial from the 7/19/2010 Boston Globe.