Case Scenario: Ethics ad social responsibility:
The Marine Mammal Protection Act was enacted in 1972 to reduce incidental killing and injury of marine mammals during commercial fishing operations. Under the act, commercial fishing vessels are required to allow an employee of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to accompany the vessels to conduct research and observe operations. In December 1986, after NOAA had adopted a new policy of recruiting female as well as male observers, NOAA notified Caribbean Marine Services Co. that female observers would be assigned to accompany two of the company's fishing vessels on their next voyages. The owners and crew members of the ships (the plaintiffs) moved for an injunction against the implementation of the NOAA directive. The plaintiffs contended that the presence of a female on board a fishing vessel would be very awkward, because the female would have to share the crew's quarters, and crew members enjoyed little or no privacy with respect to body function. Further, they alleged that the presence of a female would be disruptive to fishing operations, because some of the crew members were "crude" men with little formal education who might harass or sexually assault a female observer, and the officers would therefore have to devote time to protecting the female from the crew. Finally, the plaintiffs argued that the presence of a female observer could destroy morale and distract the crew, thus affecting the crew's efficiency and decreasing the vessel's prof-its. [Caribbean Marine Services Co. v. Baldrige, 844 F.2d 668 (9th Cir. 1988)]
Question 1: Do you think the plaintiffs were surprised that a government agency had the right to board and to ride along in their private fishing vessels? How would you have reacted if you had been the owners of these boats under the circumstances? Would you have had objections? If so, what would they have been? If not, why not?
Question 2: With which of these agencies have you had contact in your life? Which of these agencies do you believe impact you the most? Were you aware that these were administrative agencies, how these agencies derive their power, or the extent of their authority?