OCEAN CITY — A dust-up last week over perceived threatening comments, including “I will hurt you,” made by the acting secretary of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to the president of a watermen’s association has widened the rift between the state’s fishing regulatory agency and watermen across Maryland.
DNR can change quotas or adjust seasons based on best available catch data in the interest of protecting or preserving various species targeted by commercial and recreational fishermen. However, it has been called into question recently if the DNR has the authority to make changes without the blessing of the General Assembly. To that end, a bill has been introduced in the General Assembly that would, if approved, give the DNR the broad autonomy to decide what regulations should be created, changed or enforced at the department’s discretion without approval from state lawmakers.
The bill had an initial hearing in front of the House Environmental Matters Committee last week. After the hearing, comments from Acting DNR Secretary Joe Gill to the Maryland Watermen’s Association President Robert Brown are threatening to derail Gill’s permanent appointment to the post.
Brown reported he was standing outside the Environmental Matters Committee meeting room after the hearing with his wife and the DNR’s Frank Dawson when Gill allegedly approached them and warned them to play ball and not oppose the bill’s passage.
“What happened next shocked and offended my wife, me, and from the look on his face, Mr. Dawson as well,” said Brown in the letter to the McIntosh. “Mr. Gill stated to us, ‘if this bill does not pass, I will be so conservative and cut quotas and I will hurt you. Do you hear me? I will hurt you’.”
Following the incident, Brown felt compelled to fire off a letter to Environmental Matters Committee Chair Maggie McIntosh outlining the comments made by Gill and calling for the acting secretary’s removal from any workgroup meetings involving quotas and fishing seasons.
“I request that action be taken against Mr. Gill for his threatening statements to my wife and me,” said Brown in the letter. “I request that Mr. Gill not be permitted to attend any designated workgroup meetings to discuss the important issues of how catch limitations and how catch reporting should be implemented and effected. I further request that action be taken to ensure that the DNR representative who attends such meeting can meaningfully discuss the issues and solutions without fear of repercussion of the ‘marching orders’ of the secretary are compromised.”
Brown then fired off a letter to Gill, asking the acting secretary to remove himself from consideration to a permanent appointment to the position. In the meantime, Eastern Shore Senator Richard Colburn asked for and received a delay in Gill’s appointment as DNR secretary.
“Your comments and the pattern of arrogance under your interim watch are an insult to the entire seafood industry in Maryland and show a complete lack of respect for the hard-working watermen, processors and the seafood industry as a whole,” Brown’s letter to Gill reads. “All things considered, we can’t see the ability or attitude to continue working constructively with DNR under your direction …”
For his part, Gill has not denied making the comments to Brown, but has suggested they were taken out of context.
“With regard to the conversation we had following the hearing, it appears to me that we each took away something very different from that conversation,” Gill wrote to Brown. “What I was trying to convey in our conversation was what it would mean if the department lacked the authority to adjust seasons by public notice. The Attorney General has said that we have this authority, but if we do not, the department would be forced to establish more conservative quota allocations which we could not adjust. This would be harmful to watermen generally, so my intention was to convey that possible result to you. At no point did I intend for the message to come across as personal to you or any other watermen. I apologize to you since apparently you interpreted my comments differently.”
Senator Jim Mathias said this week the comments were inappropriate.
“I share in Senator Colburn’s concern about comments that were allegedly made by Joe Gill, acting secretary of the Department of Natural Resources, to members of the watermen community,” he said. “State officials, whether elected or appointed, have a responsibility to act courteously and to provide the best possible services to the people they serve, regardless of any philosophical or professional differences they may have.”
Delegate Mike McDermott took a slightly stronger stance.
“Tempers can get away from folks, and we have all experienced it from time to time, but those seeking confirmation to the highest posts of service in state government must be held to a higher standard,” he said. “The outburst from the acting secretary is deal breaker for those who need confidence that the regulatory environment is not managed by a tyrant.”