Thursday, June 26, 2008
What's in a name
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL: I thought I was pretty much aware of all of the state agencies relating to marine resources. This name (Division of Marine Science in last week’s Cochran Mailbag) is new to me. Do you have any further information as to the common name, their function, membership or location?
If you were thinking about the Marine Resources Commission, the agency head reports to the secretary of Natural Resources. The only parts of the budget that members of the commission have anything to do with approving is the Marine Fishing Improvement Fund and the Saltwater Recreational Fishing Development Fund, the source of which are the commercial and recreational license fees respectively.
General projects funded from these sources go through a public review process. This process is conducted by two boards made up of commercial and recreational fishermen respectively who make recommendations to the commission. The commissioner is hired and fired by the governor, not the commission. As far as I know, the agency has an outstanding record with regards to the audits that are regularly conducted by the state.
TOM POWERS
Poquoson
