It is time for a major house cleaning at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For years there have been complaints the agency enforcing commercial fishing regulations has become heavy handed, unreasonable and vindictive in its sanctions against the region's fishing industry.
And the news coming from sworn affidavits in U.S. District Court last week confirms that these complaints are not just allegations from malcontents who are unhappy they got caught breaking the rules.
It is clear NOAA is populated by agents with an agenda that goes well beyond their mission — the even-handed enforcement of the law. Not only has the agency sought to impose punishment before its allegations are adjudicated, it sought to manipulate public opinion about the industry by manipulating the media.
A federal judge went so far as to call it tantamount to "Gestapo justice."
In short, it is time for some enforcement sanctions against the enforcement rogues.
This has been slowly coming to light over the past year, but has accelerated because the Ciulla family, owner of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, has challenged NOAA enforcement efforts in court. The auction, the major broker for fishermen throughout the Gulf of Maine, has been clashing with NOAA since 2000, when the agency first accused it of selling illegally caught fish.
The latest clash, in February, dwarfed the earlier ones, when NOAA issued a 59-count Notice of Violation and Assessment against the auction and as many as 24 fishing boats that sell their catch through the auction.
But it is an earlier battle, which began in 2004, that is now exposing NOAA's vindictive tactics. That alleged violation, the mislabeling of a tote of cod, initially came with a 90-day suspension and a $120,000 fine. The auction has repeatedly appealed the punishment, however, and on one of those appeals, an administrative law judge threw out the charge entirely. It was then reinstated by NOAA itself, with a vastly reduced penalty. The Ciullas then appealed in federal court.
But, before any finding by the court, NOAA decided to impose a 10-day shutdown on the auction to begin July 1. And its staff, led by Special Agent Andrew Cohen, briefed the Boston Globe on June 19 about the proposed shutdown before even notifying the auction itself.
That admission by Cohen came in response to a demand by U.S. District Judge Douglas Woodlock for affidavits from any of those involved in briefing the Globe. Woodlock has since put the shutdown on hold, pending the final outcome of the auction's appeal.
But his comments to the attorney for the auction are revealing and should prompt NOAA head Jane Lubchenco to take some strong internal action.
NOAA argued it was important for "timing" and "perception" to impose the penalty before the auction's appeal had been heard. Judge Woodlock was, appropriately, aghast at such an argument, saying that penalizing it before "a fair adjudication ..." would be tantamount to "Gestapo justice."
Indeed, NOAA's actions and attempts to defend them are not only a distortion of American justice, but an effort to undermine it.
Yes, fishing must be regulated. Yes, there must be rules and there must be penalties for breaking them. But this is America, where a defendant in a legal proceeding is presumed innocent until found guilty. If the auction's appeal fails, that will be the time to impose punishment.
Thankfully, a federal judge is willing to stand for that principle. NOAA's leadership must do the same thing. It should start by getting rid of those who cannot abide by it.
