THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412040063
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: SMITHFIELD LENGTH: Medium: 75 lines
The state Marine Fisheries Commission showed its displeasure at the performance of the Division of Marine Fisheries Law Enforcement Section by approving quarterly performance reviews and asking a committee to review the section's priorities and budget request for the coming year.
At the same time, the commission, which met here Saturday, decided to increase the penalties fishermen pay for violating marine regulations while setting up guidelines for judges handling such cases.
Chairman Robert V. Lucas said he and other commission members are not satisfied with the recent performance of the Law Enforcement Section.
``I was hoping a resolution of support could come out of here today,'' Lucas said after a presentation by Maj. Doug Freeman. Freeman was standing in for section chief Fred Swain who is ill.
``I want this commission to get behind law enforcement by passing a resolution of support and by lobbying the legislature on their behalf, but I can't do that until I understand how they intend to protect the resource,'' Lucas said.
After nearly an hour of heated discussion, the commission called for the quarterly reviews andasked its law enforcement committee to review the section's priorities and budget request for next year.
Lucas wants a more-thorough review of how the section's priorities will protect the state's fish populations, and of ways the section's $1.28 million budget request will help it attain these goals.
This is the second time in as many weeks that Lucas has challenged the effectiveness of the division's law enforcement section.
The first clash occurred at a Nov. 22 meeting in Raleigh of a state legislative panel that studies seafood and aquaculture issues. Lucas said at that time that he could not support the request for an additional $1.28 million from the state without a better understanding of how the money would be spent.
The fisheries enforcement program has been attacked this year by scientists, fishermen and former fisheries regulators who say the enforcement section is unorganized and inefficient.
There are only 47 enforcement officers to cover 2.4 million acres of state waters and each officer is writing fewer than two tickets a month. Nearly one third of the division's boats are in disrepair, according to a recent report by The News & Observer in Raleigh.
The newspaper alleged that laws protecting the state's fishing industry have gone unenforced in northeastern North Carolina, the most productive section of the coast, partly because Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo contractor, used his political power to discourage ticketing of fishermen.
Basnight has strenuously denied the charges.
The debate spilled over into the commission meeting when panel members grilled Freeman about section practices and the role politics plays in the enforcement of fisheries regulations.
``There are problems out there, but I can assure you that the men and women of the marine patrol are going to take care of these problems,'' Freeman said. ``Give us a little bit of time.''
But Freeman's assurances did not satisfy commission member N. Kay Crocker of Wrightsville Beach.
`` ``You say you need time. How much time do you need?'' Crocker asked.
After the meeting, Lucas said he was pleased with action by the commission that could charge fishing-law violators for the costs of replacing nearly 80 types of fish or shellfish caught illegally in coastal waters and the costs of investigating such violations.
The commission voted 9-6 Saturday to approve rules that will serve as guidelines to judges who try fisheries violations. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
PROPOSED FISHING REGULATIONS
[For complete graphic, please see microfilm]
by CNB