In an investigation by the Commerce Department’s inspector general NOAA’s fisheries chief of law enforcement officer was removed. The NOAA official, Dale Jones, has been under fire since the shredding revelations surfaced in midwinter during sworn testimony in Gloucester over the handling of law enforcement cases in the Northeast regional fishery.
Alan Risenhoover, director of the NOAA Office of Sustainable Fisheries, has replaced Jones, confirmed U.S. Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. Frank said that this is a perfect example of improvement he expect NOAA to undertake a careful and thorough selection process as they select a new director of law enforcement.
Sen. John F. Kerry in his statement said that transparency and accountability are key for fishermen whose economic well-being is in large measure decided by NOAA’s rules. They can’t swallow them if an official is destroying documents. Jones’ fate has been awaiting an addendum to that report, specifically looking at the shredding of documents during an official investigation.
State Sen. Mark C.W. Montigny, D-New Bedford, said he was disappointed at the delay in removing Jones. He added that anyone accused by the inspector general or anyone doing forensic accounting or investigating, anybody accused of abusing their privileges should be immediately removed.
