DEQ-CFW_00080921

Dear Mr. Browder,
We have significant concerns with the July 6 WRAL story, "Anglers accuse NC_ of bait-and-
sivitch with fishing license revenue." The story contained numerous inaccuracies and false
implications that unfairly painted the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries as mishandling millions
of dollars in revenues from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses. Even though the
division provided written responses and explanations to questions received from WRAL in
advance, most of these responses were not presented in the story.
In an email exchange on July 3, you requested that someone from NCDMF staff participate in an
on -camera interview so that the agency could "defend itself," despite the previous information
supplied by the division. The division instead provided a final written statement and declined the
on -camera interview because it was unclear what specific allegations were being made, and it
can be difficult to quickly respond to accusations, especially given the complexity of our
programs, governing statutes, and budgets, depending on the types of questions that might be
raised. Given the seriousness of any allegations about the misuse of public funds, it did not seem
fair to ask staff to respond on -camera to unclear allegations. Instead, we provided carefully
researched, written responses to the specific questions you provided.
We are disappointed that your reporting did not reflect sufficient research of the issues, and we
believe WRAL exhibited clear bias in deciding to run the story. For example, all of the following
claims are unfounded and based on little to no background or evidence:
The story implied that revenues from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses
must be used to improve recreational fishing, but are being spent on other priorities. This
is untrue. The division previously responded with citations to the state law that mandates
these funds are to be used "to manage, protect, restore, develop, cultivate, conserve, and
enhance the marine resources of the State" (G. S. 113 -175. 1 (c)). Specific examples
highlighted in your story clearly meet this requirement, including educational materials
for recreational fishermen. Salaries for division staff who work on stock assessments,
habitat enhancement projects, biological sampling, enforcement, or are involved in
managing marine fisheries also meet the clear intent of this law. It would seem to make
sense that the agency legally mandated with the responsibility to manage marine fish
could use some of the CRFL funds for that purpose. Mr. Griffin suggested the funds
should instead go toward hatcheries, which is possible but not preferable to managing
wild stocks; orthat we "put the money in the bottom of the ocean and we harvest it and
grow it up and let it bloom," which the division finds to be an unclear alternative (if Mr.
Griffin was referring to oyster sanctuaries, these in fact have been supported with CRFL
funds).
2. The story implied that using revenues from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing
Licenses to fund staff salaries and operations is inappropriate, even though there is
nothing in state law that prohibits spending of these funds on division salaries. In fact, the
General Assembly has mandated that some CRFL license funds go toward division
positions, including a stock assessment scientist
(http://www.ncleg.net/sessions/2007/budget/budgetreport7-27.pdf). The story further
DEQ-CFW-00080921

implied that the Division of Marine Fisheries inappropriately created new positions and
fund -shifted existing positions without legislative approval, even though the division has
followed all state processes and gained all required approvals for all positions funded by
Coastal Recreational Fishing License revenues. No basis was provided for these
accusations. We informed WRAL that we were investigated by the State Auditor's office
in 2017 on these very questions, and that the investigation was concluded with no
negative findings.
The story inaccurately stated that Division of Marine Fisheries employees funded by
Coastal Recreational Fishing License revenues received 3 percent raises every year, even
when other state employees received no raises, which is simply untrue. The story cited
information the division had provided to WRAL that contained budgeted salaries for
these positions. The information we provided in advance clearly stated that these figures
were taken only from budgeted salaries in grant proposals, and that if no legislative raises
were given in any specific year, any remaining balances would remain in the Marine
Resources Fund. WRAL neither requested actual salary information nor asked about the
division about any salary increases in advance. The division did not know it had been
accused of giving these raises until the story aired.
4. The story stated that the Division of Marine Fisheries gave itself grants. While the
division administers the Coastal Recreational Fishing License Grant Program, funding
decisions were made by the three governor appointees holding the recreational fishing
seats on the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. The division does not work for the
commission. The two are separate entities. This is why the division previously had to
develop proposals for expenditures by the agency. These proposals were reviewed by
technical staff from the Wildlife Resources Commission and the Marine Fisheries
Commission subcommittee.
The story misquoted a letter from the federal government and made it appear that
spending from the N.C. Marine Resources Fund is out of control. In a nutshell, the letter
from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service required that state laws needed to be changed to
give the division final approval of expenditures from the Marine Resources Fund instead
of the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission. Without the statutory changes, the division
stood to lose more than $3 million in federal funding. There was no assertion by the
USFWS that any funds had been mishandled by the division or the commission, but
federal regulations required that the division have final authority on spending. This is
ironic, since the division itself is being accused of mismanaging funds which previously
were overseen by the independent NC Marine Fisheries Commission.
Perhaps the most disappointing aspect of the story was that WRAL used, as its primary source, a
recreational fisherman who does not hold any authoritative marine fisheries position and does
not routinely participate in any of the division's extensive public commenting or advisory
committee processes. WRAL held up his opinions as fact while ignoring the responses of a state
agency.
DEQ-CFW-00080922

The department is not asking for a public redress of the story's errors. We do ask that, in the
future, you please consider your responsibility to fully research and understand the facts
surrounding a story before airing it or asking for an on -camera defense from a state agency.
Sincerely,
Braxton Davis
Director, Division of Marine Fisheries
Jamie Kritzer
Communications Director, N.C. Department of Environmental Quality
Cc Secretary Michael Regan
Assistant Secretary Sheila Holman
Director Braxton Davis
DEQ-CFW-00080923