A top federal fishing regulator who was visiting Maine today says the government is taking steps to restore confidence in its oversight of the industry in the Northeast. The visit of National Marine Fisheries Service Adminstrator Eric Schwaab comes as beleaguered ground fishermen prepare to launch a controversial new system of rules aimed at conserving stocks, and just a day after new allegations surface, aimed at a top enforcement official in Washington.

At about 8 o'clock this morning, with a chilly March sea breeze blowing across the docks of Port Clyde, the new administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service got a first hand look at how a troubled industry is trying stay afloat in this midcoast fishing village.

NMFS head Eric Schwaab toured a fisherman's co-op and the nearby Fresh Catch facililty, which is experimenting with a community-supported fisheries concept. As a team of workers shelled cooked Maine shrimp nearby, Schwaab thanked his hosts for sharing some positive news, to balance out some of the negative responses he's been hearing about the new sector-based ground fishing rules that take affect in May.

"I've been hearing a lot about sectors since coming on the job, and what I'm seeing here today is the optimistic side of what sectors can do, combined with the hard work and creativity and ingenuity of people in these local communities, and it's encourging to see that," Schwaab said.

But Schwaab's visit also comes in the same week that some members of Congress are calling for the resignation of Dale Jones, a top enforcement official in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Adminstration, who is under investigation for authorizing the shredding of documents that may have been of interest in an ongoing probe by the Department's inspector general.

Schwaab says he expects a report on the shredding allegation within 30 days. "We look forward to receiving that report and taking whatever action might be appropriate after we review that."

'We're going to be keep in a close eye on this, and definately looking into what else comes out of these findings," says 1st District Congresswoman Chellie Pingree, who hosted Schwaab's tour of Port Clyde.

Pingree says she believes that the changing of the guard at NOOA and NFMS will bolster efforts to correct problems that were revealed in a January report by the Office of Inspector General. The report found that the agencies were arbitrary and unfair in assessing fines for fishing violations in the Northeast.

"And we don't want our fishermen to feel under constant seige, so I do think it's important and there are new people in charge that they hear the message loud and clear that it's been really frustrating in the fishing industry," Pingree says. "And, frankly, when you hear about shredding documents within a department you say, 'Hey, what are you trying to cover up?' How do we have a wholesale change and really do things differently, and I hope with new management that's what we're going to see."

Later, at the annual Fishermen's Forum at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, Schwaab met with a group of fishermen and other stakeholders, hosted by U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe.

Snowe says she was not aware of the latest shredding allegations. "I didn't know about that, but that would be horrific."

Snowe, a ranking member of the Subcommitee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, says she hopes that NOAA, under the new leadership of Administrator Jane Lubchenco, will turn the agencies around. "Hopefully there will be abilty to renew trust and confidence in regulators and agencies that oversee our fisheries, because the track record has been abominable."

"You feel like you're under the gun before you do anything," says Port Clyde groundfisherman Gary Libby. Libby says all too often, the enforcement standard is "guilty, until proven innocent."

"I don't believe most fishermen are crooks, especially around here," he says. "Most fishermen are real honest and really want to preserve the fishery, and you get a handful of people, it's like that anywhere, where you're going to have the bad apples."

NOAA chief Lubchenco has issued a series of corrective measures aimed at improving the agency's enforcement practices in the Northeast.