Steve took on the story of Portsmouth commercial fisherman Dave Goethel a while ago in complaining about overreaching and expensive regulations that were threatening to bankrupt small New England businesses:
A Federal Court has sided with the Government and NOAA in the ongoing effort to put local New Hampshire Fisherman out of business.
A group led by New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel sued the government over the rule change. The fishermen lost in federal district court and appealed. A 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in Boston agreed with the lower court on Friday that the group didn’t file its lawsuit within a 30-day statute of limitations.
One of the biggest restrictions and burdens (other than catch size, equipment regulations, and season time frames) was the absolutely stupid reg that fishing captains had to pay for government monitors to be on the boats (at a cost of about $700/day) to ensure that they weren’t “by catching” – bringing up species not included in their quotas. While larger operations could swallow that, small guys were just being put out of a centuries-old traditional New England business.
Today’s news (reformatted, emphasis mine):
Fisherman who sued feds thrilled about funding for monitoring
A commercial fisherman who sued the federal government over at-sea monitoring costs was thrilled Thursday when it was announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would fully fund the program under the omnibus government spending bill. David Goethel, of Hampton, said he learned about the funding Wednesday. “I’ve been sitting on this for 18 hours. I was like a cat that swallowed a canary. I didn’t want to spit out any feathers,” Goethel said Thursday afternoon.
NOAA used to pay at-sea monitoring fees but reduced contributions in recent years. Fishermen say their costs can be up to $700 per day. Goethel’s wife, Ellen, said the news brought tears to her eyes. “I can’t overstate enough how much this means to the fishermen of New England,” Ellen Goethel said. The couple learned the news through an email from Erica Anhalt, a legislative assistant for U.S. Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH.
On Thursday morning, Shaheen issued a public statement. “New Hampshire fishermen face enough daunting challenges — the last thing they need right now is to be further burdened with a costly regulatory fee,” said Shaheen. The bill provides an additional $10.3 million to fully fund the cost of at-sea observers and training in the New England groundfish fishery, including sea and shore side infrastructure costs, according to Anhalt’s email. Shaheen said she will continue to fight for fishermen.
“We should be focused on making it easier, not harder, for our commercial fishing industry to compete in today’s market, which is why I fought to include relief for at-sea monitoring costs this year. I’ll continue to prioritize our fishermen and work to ensure the industry’s long-term sustainability,” Shaheen said in her statement. The legislation also includes $2 million in new funding for New England groundfish research, including the impacts of changing climatic conditions and warming waters.
The Goethels credit Shaheen for the victory. “You can’t overstate how much Senator Shaheen has done here,” David Goethel said.
The lawsuit David Goethel filed in 2015 was funded by Cause of Action Institute, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit oversight group advocating for economic freedom and individual opportunity. They petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court last year, which did not choose to hear the case.
Congratulations to the Goethel’s who have endured mightily over these past few years. It is a hard row to hoe when you see your labor going directly to the Government leaving you with very little for your labors.
And as much as I take on US State Senator Jeanne Shaheen for all the bad stuff, when she does good, I must say so (you know, that Consistency schtick I’m always railing about). She had the government cough up the money. But the question remains, should the Feds be so involved to have placed such onerous regulations in the first place? She’s always for a more active, more expensive, and more intrusive government from when she was a NH politician. Why not leave this to the States, Jeanne?
(H/T: Union Leader)
