Tag Archives: legal dispute

A legal dispute over the sale of boats owned by Carlos ‘The Codfather’ Rafael is heading to court

Carlos Rafael, whose fishing operations were based out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was once the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the U.S. Rafael was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in 2017 for dodging quotas and smuggling profits overseas. The case against Rafael included forced divestiture of his assets,,, Rafael complied, but a New Bedford fish auction house sued him with a complaint that he didn’t honor a right of first refusal agreement to buy boats. BASE Inc., filed suit claiming it suffered millions of dollars in damages because it wasn’t able to buy the boats. >click to read< 15:04

“foreign” NGOs, Pew instrumental in stripping indigenous people of constitutional rights with N.Z. Marine Sanctuary

conservation-groups-reprehensible-advocacy-threatens-indigenous-fishing-rights-in-new-zealand-body-image-1461859393When New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key announced the establishment of one of the world’s largest marine reserves at the United Nations last year, it was met with near unanimous praise. The proposal got the nod from big conservation groups and scientists, and media coverage was generally flattering. The 620,000 square kilometer sanctuary in the Kermadec region, northeast of New Zealand, is one of the most pristine and biodiverse on Earth, home to 35 species of whales and dolphins, 150 types of fish, and three of the world’s seven sea turtle species. Under the plan, fishing, oil, gas, and mineral exploration would be banned. But seven months later the sanctuary is at the center of a legal dispute and claims that “foreign” NGOs — most notably the Pew Charitable Trusts — were instrumental in a decision that will see New Zealand’s indigenous people stripped of constitutional rights. Read the rest here 12:26