The new administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service is reassuring Maine fishermen the agency is working to reestablish confidence in its regulation of the industry, following a report that chastised the agency's oversight in the Northeast.

NMFS administrator Eric Schwaab toured fishing operations in the midcoast recently, including the Fresh Catch community supported fisheries facility in Port Clyde, and attended the Fishermen's Forum in Rockport, according to the Maine Public Broadcasting Network. During his visit, Schwaab told fishermen and state officials the regulatory agency is taking steps to rebuild trust, after a January report from the Inspector General's Office of the U.S. Commerce Department said that NMFS and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were arbitrary and unfair in levying fines against fishermen in the Northeast. Rep. Chellie Pingree told MPBN she's hopeful a new administrator at NMFS will help correct problems identified in the report and bring about "a wholesale change" in fisheries regulation and oversight in Maine.

A top NOAA enforcement official is currently under investigation following allegations he authorized the shredding of documents that may have been sought in the probe by the department's inspector general, according to MPBN. A report on those allegations is expected within 30 days, and Schwaab says the agency will "[take] whatever action might be appropriate."

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