NEW BEDFORD — A NOAA spokesman, in an email, told The Standard-Times that former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement chief Dale Jones on Friday was stripped of an important new assignment by NOAA Director Jane Lubchenco.
In a terse email, Justin Kenny of NOAA wrote to The Standard-Times, "Dr. Lubchenco decided to transfer the recent responsibilities assigned to Mr. Dale Jones elsewhere within NOAA." He gave no further details but the assignment drew a firestorm of derision from lawmakers.
On Thursday, the Gloucester Times reported that Lubchenco had been unaware of Jones' new assignment and was "reviewing it."
Jones was infamously retained by NOAA after being accused of allowing excessive and vindictive prosecution of fishing violations in the Northeast.
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