
English: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

English: 
The first time we went out with Nancy, I will never forget. When I want to think a
happy thought that's what I think of was
that day when we went out and we saw
about 2,000 common dolphins. When I first started here in 1987 there was really
nothing known about killer whales off
the coast of California. No one had
studied them, no one had identified them
by the individual markings, they didn't
know the family groups because they live
in family groups.
In NOAA's prosecution
of Nancy they focused on one particular
incident where she took blubber from a
gray whale and allegedly used that to
feed orcas. Because a NOAA bureaucrat
decided that that behavior was a
criminal violation of a regulation that

English: 
prohibits the feeding of marine mammals
without a specific permit, she was thrown
into this 7-year nightmare. Well Nancy
called me early in the morning I guess
it must been about 7:30 and said you
know she was crying
this army of law enforcement officials
had descended on her house.
When all this happened I mean I was so terrified. You know if I was a drug dealer or doing
something you know illegal that I knew I
was doing, but I'm a business owner,
a scientist you know, I'm doing everything
right as far as I can tell cuz I'd never
in a million years want to jeopardize my
killer whale research I mean I just
wouldn't.
It wasn't the FBI or Homeland Security
it was NOAA - the National Oceanographic
and Atmospheric Administration - that came
to Nancy's door. I could be facing 20
years in prison and you know $100,000
fine confiscation of possibly my whale
watch boats.

English: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

English: 
Over criminalization is a
phenomenon through which government
agencies, usually administrative agencies,
criminalize conduct through regulations,
things that nobody votes on, nobody has a
say in, in fact most of the time, almost
nobody even knows is happening and as a
result that gives agencies the power,
substantial power, over our everyday life
and allows them to do to you and to me
and to small business owners and to
consumers and pretty much anybody what
they did to Nancy. I was just getting to
the point where you know I just felt
like I can't keep doing this anymore you
know I'm gonna have to just give in I
just can't but then Cause of Action
came and you know talk to me they heard
about the story they didn't feel like I
was being treated right there was
government was going way overboard and
what they were doing. Cause of Action's
mission is to work for government

English: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

English: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

English: 
accountability and transparency. We do this among other things by
providing pro-bono legal services to
people like Nancy. She pled guilty to a
misdemeanor, she agreed to pay a fine,
there are provisions for some hours of
community service, but we were very
successful in the sense that the felony
penalties were taken off the table so
she's now able to move forward with her
life, she's able to get back to doing
what she loves, we were able to stop what
could have been a real travesty of
justice. I just hope and pray that she
will be able to get her permit back and
be able to continue on with her research
so we can learn as much as we can about
the largest predator in the sea out
there, the orca whale

English: 
 

English: 
 
