 Fish being graded for buyers. The Gloucester Seafood Display Auction is the only remaining fish auction between Boston and Portland. Some fear the NMFS charges againt the auction threaten the existence of the last regional market for fishermen. Photo © Sam Murfitt
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On Friday the thirteenth, 2009, the owners of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, the Ciulla family, received a notice of violations from the National Marine Fishery Service. The notice alleged that they had 59 alleged violations since 2004 and would receive fines totaling $355,200 as well as a 120 day shut down of the Harbor Loop auction.
There were no previous hearings on record of these charges. The Ciulla family may only take their appeal to an administrative court judge of the US Department of Commerce in Washington. The Ciulla Family already has a pending case which has been in the administrative courts for several years. They were exonerated once in that case, however, NMFS appealed the decision of the administrative court. The result is the case continues unresolved, running up legal cost into six figures.
The Gloucester Daily Times reported that many of the violations were taken from reports of boat landings transactions the Ciulla's filed at the auction house. These transactions were voluntarily forwarded to National Marine Fishery Service. It was reported that the Ciulla family did not believe they should be fined for what they think is the National Marine Fisheries responsibility to inspect the catch and the permit histories of hundreds of fishermen to determine if they were within the law.
On the same day, National Marine Fisheries Service also brought 24 additional charges against boats in the local area. The review of these charges is in front of an administrative law judge in the same agency (US Department of Commerce). Gloucester maritime attorney, Steve Ouellette said, “Fines are set by agency attorneys, so the basis of the fine is non discoverable, which makes a challenge difficult, and the fisherman has the burden at the hearing of persuading the judge that the fine is not appropriate.”
The Ciulla family and their representatives have stated that they will fight “tooth and nail” to keep the auction house open, and that it would directly affect financially, and otherwise, approximately 60 people. It would also disrupt the distribution of fish from an important fishing port in decline, and create havoc with the overall market. The charges it is expected will negativelt impact the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction, which handles approximately $15 million a year in seafood.
To the fishermen and shoreside support infrastructure in Gloucester, this has been considered another attempt by the National Marine Fisheries to shrink the New England Fishing Fleet. Some questioned the maneuver since it came just days after National Marine Fisheries Service Framework 42 regulations were overturned by US District Judge Harrington. The fishermen of Gloucester consider this just another nail the coffin for Gloucester shore side operations, and the Gloucester fleet which was once the largest in the country with the richest resource.
