THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 9, 1994 TAG: 9406090553
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: D1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: BY BETTY MITCHELL GRAY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: 940609 LENGTH: Long
The announcement ends weeks of speculation that Hogarth, 55, would be leaving the post of fisheries chief, a position he has held for eight years - longer than anyone else.
{REST} The announcement also comes amid allegations from one state recreational fishing organization that Hogarth was forced from the post by a group of state legislators from eastern North Carolina in exchange for increases this year in the division's appropriations - allegations DEHNR officials and one coastal legislator have denied.
Bob Jamieson, 52, head of the division's regional office in Wilmington, will serve as interim director of the division while the department conducts a nationwide search for Hogarth's successor.
Hogarth is still working out the details of his new post, according to DEHNR. He will work with the National Marine Fisheries Service in Silver Spring, Md., most likely in charge of interjurisdictional fisheries management, under an intergovernmental personnel agreement with NMFS. Under the agreement Hogarth will remain a state employee on loan to the federal government for two years. The federal government will reimburse the state for Hogarth's salary which will be at least $63,033, according to DEHNR spokesman Debbie K. Crane. ``It's a pretty common situation,'' she said.
A committee of commercial and recreational fishermen, academic interests, the division, the Marine Fisheries Commission and others, headed by Joan Weld, assistant secretary for natural resources at DEHNR, will conduct the search for a new director. No time limit was given for that search.
``We're at a crossroads here in North Carolina,'' said Steve Levitas, DEHNR deputy secretary. ``We have to find a leader who will be able to build consensus on tough resource management issues. ``It's imperative that we get a strong person into that position quickly and we'll pull out the stops to do so,'' Levitas said.
Hogarth said rumors that had been circulating about his imminent departure contributed to his decision to speed up his search for a new job.
``It was becoming a little bit difficult to work,'' he said Wednesday. ``It was not conducive to the work that needs to be done.''
Several times over the last two years speculation had surfaced concerning Hogarth's tenure as fisheries chief and Hogarth himself said he has become ``a symbol for the frustrations'' of some of the state's commercial fishermen.
Many of those involved in fisheries regulations, including Hogarth, had speculated in 1992 that Gov. James B. Hunt, a Democrat, would replace Hogarth, who was appointed by a Republican governor. Some of the state's recreational fishermen were among the groups that spearheaded a letter-writing campaign asking Hunt to keep Hogarth.
Two weeks ago, the Albemarle Fishermen's Association, in a meeting in Elizabeth City with Hunt, asked that Hogarth be replaced. ``Unfortunately, for many folks, Bill Hogarth has become the lightning rod in the debate between recreational and commercial fishermen,'' said Levitas. ``Too much time had been spent talking about Dr. Hogarth instead of figuring out how to protect and restore our fisheries.''
Jerry Schill, executive director of one commercial fishing trade group, said he was relieved by the announcement: ``I'm tired of the rumors, allegations and anticipation. Now we can deal with fisheries management rather than rumors.''
But the head of one recreational fishing group said the loss of Hogarth at the helm of the division could set the state back years and was prompted by political pressure from coastal legislators.
``His record, under contentious circumstances and with little support, has been exemplary,'' said Richen Brame, executive director of the Atlantic Coast Conservation Association, a group of sports fishermen based in Wilmington. ``We lose a fine director because of the politics of commercial fishing.''
``Anglers should be very worried about this,'' Brame said in a press release. ``If the commercial industry and their legislators can so easily get rid of someone like Bill, how can we expect to hire anyone even remotely qualified in this position?''
Levitas denied that DEHNR had bowed to political pressure to remove Hogarth. ``Bill isn't being fired,'' he said. ``He's taking another position with a high profile federal agency. Bill has been talking with us for several months about the possibility of moving on.
``Those discussions began long before the General Assembly came back to Raleigh,'' Levitas said.
Senate leader Marc Basnight, D-Dare, said Wednesday that the state Senate's budget for the Division of Marine Fisheries, which includes the most money appropriated to the division in recent years, was not dependent on Hogarth's departure.
``We've got a lot of turmoil on the coast. ... a lot of division out there between recreational and commercial fishermen,'' he said. ``Bill did as well as anybody could have done.
``What is so shameful and hurtful, is that this could happen to whoever follows if we don't come together about this,'' Basnight said.
Hogarth said he was ``sad in a way'' about leaving ``because I've been here eight-plus years. And in another way you realize it's best in the long run.''
by CNB