Top federal fisheries law enforcer Dale Jones has been removed as chief of law enforcement for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a casualty of a NOAA inspector general's report and complaints that Jones destroyed documents during the inquiry and mishandled funds from enforcement fines.
NOAA assistant adminstrator Eric Schwaab said Thursday that Jones would be replaced in the interim by Alan Risenhoover, who has been running the agency's Office of Sustainable Fisheries, until a permanent law enforcement chief can be found.
Jones had been a Maryland city police chief before coming to the fisheries agency, and some industry advocates complained he played a role in making enforcers too aggressive and worsening relations between NOAA and fishermen, especially in the Northeast. Those pressures erupted in early 2009 when NOAA sought a 60-day shutdown of the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction over charges the dock had brokered illegal catches, based on agents' analysis of landing documents.
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