Guest View: Patrick should make Frank a senator

He opposed onerous regulations such as the 10-year overfishing rebuilding schedule in the Magnuson-Stevens Act. He introduced the International Fisheries Agreement Clarification Act with Republican Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine. The bill, which passed with strong support from Sen. Kerry, created a level playing field, allowing American negotiators on internationally managed stocks to be exempt from U.S. domestic fishing regulations as long as there is still progress toward stock rebuilding. Working closely with Republican Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina, he organized a bipartisan coalition of coastal congressmen who work together regularly on issues of concern to fishermen. And when it became clear, as a result of an inspector general’s report, that our East Coast fishermen were having their rights trampled by NOAA, he arranged a face-to-face meeting between aggrieved fishermen and the secretary of commerce that resulted in a Cabinet-level apology and a return of fine money. Read more

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.