This is fact that the exit of Rockport fisherman Bill Lee from the industry is not a biggest commercial fishing news but however, it may be the most telling. Bill Lee has been longtime captain of the Ocean Reporter and perhaps a fierce defender of fishermen’s rights.
He has sold his permits and bowed out of the industry to cover a $19,000 settlement for a questionable National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration violation should cry out loud and clear to our federal legislators of the need for drastic changes in the way that NOAA and its enforcers do business. It is observed that Lee was one of the first to come forward and legitimately cry foul over the outrageous tactics used by Coast Guard enforcement agents on NOAA’s behalf, a step that helped spawn an ongoing Inspector General’s Office probe into heavy-handed tactics by NOAA and its National Marine Fisheries Services.
Bill Lee was the first to meet with the Inspector General’s agents when they came to the area this past summer — a strong statement to other fishermen suggesting they, too, should come forward, and many did. Lee has, in short, been a fishermen who’s had the courage and commitment to speak up, and in doing so, he has helped bring about a profound push for governmental change. And the fact that he, too, has been “forced out” of the business should sound the alarms to all.
It is said that Lee’s exit from the fishing industry has opened a new way to convey the message to the federal law makers of the country.
