Fisheries association led by FDP politician Gero Hocker is threatened with a fine from the Bundestag. Hocker has campaigned for the interests of his clients in the Ministry of Agriculture.
SPIEGEL had revealed that Hocker, as association president, had written to Agriculture Minister Cem Özdemir seeking funding for German fishermen. He explained this by saying that as an employers' association he was exempt from registration. However, the law provides an exception for employers' and employees' associations.