Unless justice is levied against those who have abused their authority and the public's trust, nobody in the fishing industry has any reason to trust that NOAA is acting in anyone's best interests but its own.
Fourth of July Editorial, The New Bedford (Massachusetts) Standard-Times
July 04, 2010
Without credibility, any regulatory agency is sunk.
And that is the case with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's law enforcement office, which is charged with enforcing the rules and regulations governing the nation's fisheries.
Ever since it was first reported early last year that the enforcement office has targeted fishermen from the Northeast for the harshest of fines and penalties, the agency has been on ever shakier ground with the industry it is supposed to regulate. And when it was reported that the head of the law enforcement office, Dale Jones, shredded documents during an investigation of the office's handling of enforcement cases against Northeast fishermen, NOAA was forced to replace him.
But an audit ordered by the Commerce Department's inspector general found that the problems go deeper than an overzealous enforcement chief.
The audit found that fishery police used the fines collected from heavy-handed enforcement of fishing regulations to purchase cars, a luxury boat and overseas travel for the very people in charge of enforcing the rules.
It is time for Congress and the White House to shine the bright lights on NOAA and its enforcement office to determine which laws the regulators themselves broke and to levy justice against those who have abused their authority and the public's trust.
Unless that happens, nobody in the fishing industry has any reason to trust that the regulatory agency is acting in anyone's best interests but its own.
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