The nation's top fishing regulator today says the agency is reforming the way it polices fishermen. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration head Jane Lubchenco say the reforms will ensure that the agency's enforcement efforts are effective and fair.
The changes come in reponse to complaints from fishermen in the Northeast about arbitrary and overly harsh enforcement of fishing rules. A highly-critical Inspector General's report released last month confirmed the validity of the complaints.
Lubchenco says NOAA will require "high-level" review of fines assessed against fishermen and settlements by the general counsel. In addition, the agency has frozen the hiring of criminal investigators until an analysis of the appropriate mix of criminal and civil enforcement officers is complete, Lubchenco says.
Fishermen had complained that most fishing infractions in the Northeast are misdemeanors, while the vast majority of NOAA agents are criminal investigators. The Inspector General's report concluded that the high number of criminal investigators has fostered mistrust between regulators and fishermen.
To read Lubchenco's report to the Inspector General, click here.