By Richard Gaines
The embattled national head of fisheries law enforcement, whose administration is the subject of a scathing set of findings by the inspector general, has sent his staff a memo which emphasizes the need to improve "communication and relationship" with the fishing industry.
Dale J. Jones, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement, made only fleeting reference to the IG's many criticisms of his department, writing "I may disagree with and will refute some of the perspectives."
Both the report to the public by U.S. Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser and Jones' internal memo were issued Jan. 21.
Jane Lubchenco, chief administrator of NOAA, has still not commented publicly about the substance of the inspector general's findings, or taken any action in the wake of the report. Her primary response has been to call for a "summit" among NOAA and regulatory enforcement officials, fishing industry representatives, and groups from the environmental and academic communities, though no date or site has been set.
"I personally concur with the need for us to improve our communications and relationships with the fishing industry," Jones wrote in his January "Director's Minute." "Though outreach is not our mission alone, and others within the National Marine Fisheries Service must be involved in this effort, we must always move toward improving our efforts and results in this area."
His December "Director's Minute" reported on a trip to the Gloucester office with three top NOAA officials including Andrew Winer, a former Obama campaign operative, to help build morale as the release of the IG's report was imminent.
Jones wrote at that time that he doubted the inspector general would be able to "substantiate" allegations of "vindictive and overzealous" actions by the NOAA and its NMFS corps of investigators and lawyers based in Gloucester against fishing industry members.
"We really have nothing to fear," Jones added in the December note.
He also said, "I know what kind of work you do" — although Zinser's report actually found that top leadership was out of touch with the agents in the regional offices.
The officers in the Gloucester office work along the Atlantic coast from Maine through the Carolinas.
Zinser's report, the findings from a still-ongoing investigation that is already six months in the works, criticized the law enforcement leadership at the NOAA for, among other things, taking a de facto "hands off" policy that allows — if not encourages — officers to treat fishermen as "criminals" and failing to establish systems, organization and useful records.
The report also said it had discovered that an $8.5 million forfeiture fund made of fines was essentially operated without external controls or auditable records. The inspector general said forensic review of the fund would be forthcoming.
Zinser also wondered why the department was made up almost completely of criminal investigators when there were few criminal cases and instead the bulk of the work involved administrative law work.
He provided a possible answer: "There are indications in the record" that the department was heavy in criminal investigators because the "criminal" ranking afforded the offices higher pay.
Jones was hired in 1999 to head NOAA law enforcement; at the time, he was police chief in Hagerstown, Md., a landlocked city of 40,000. He surrounded himself with colleagues of his from the Maryland municipal police system.
The IG's investigation was triggered by a third NOAA Office of Law Enforcement effort, filed last February, to close the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction.
Auction president Larry Ciulla has said he feels vindicated by the report, which is not complete. Zinser said his staff would investigate and report on individual cases of alleged "abusive treatment" by the agency against the fishing industry. The IG's probe has included interviews with more than 200 people. The auction was the only complainant identified by name.
Among other incidents, a 2006 Gloucester Police Department report obtained by the Times shows that NOAA enforcement agents wrongfully entered the auction after hours without authorization; that incident came during a time when NOAA was pressing for evidence to prosecute the auction for allegedly handling illegally caught fish.
"In response to the report," Jones wrote in his January memo, "the NOAA administrator (Lubchenco) has re-asserted her commitment to NOAA's goal to rebuild our fisheries while sustaining the jobs and fishing communities that depend on them.
"She suggests that we can and do a better job in keeping the fishing industry informed of our law enforcement actions and the reasons behind them," he wrote.
Richard Gaines can be reached at 978-283-7000, x3464, or via e-mail at rgaines@gloucestertimes.com.
