BOSTON — The secretary of commerce has denied requests by lawmakers to allow more fishermen accused of breaking the law to have their cases reviewed for fairness.

Gary Locke also has refused to stay pending sanctions against fishermen while a special master he appointed considers several questionable penalties against the fishermen, which were highlighted in a federal report.

Last year, the Commerce Department’s inspector general identified the questionable penalties by federal fishery enforcement officers and also alleged abusive treatment and pressure tactics.

In response, Locke appointed a special master to review the cases.

But in his memo dated Tuesday, Locke said he had to place “reasonable bounds” on the number of cases that could be looked at. He also said putting a stay on pending penalties could compromise the integrity of the special master’s review.


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