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GULF OF ALASKA BEING ATTACKED FOR FISH SPECIES SO THE WHALES THAT COME THERE FOR FOOD WILL DIE FROM STARVATION? = I OPPOSE THIS PROPOSAL BY THIS AGENCY, WHICH HAS PRESIDED OVER THE LOSS OF SO MANY FISH SPECIES. THIS AGENCY RESPONDS ONLY TO COMMERCIAL FISH PROFITEERS, WHO ARE DECIMATING THE PLANET BY TAKING IT ALL FOR THEIR OWN WALLETS. OUR KIDS WILL HAVE NOTHING LEFT ON THISPLANET. DONT FORGET THIS IS THE AGENCY THAT LET MMS GIVE BP THE OK TO DRILL INT HE GULF OF MEXICO WITH ITS CATASTROPHE. THIS AGENCY IS LAX AND NEGLIGENT AND LAZY. IT CHECKS NOTHING. IT ACCEPTS WHAT PROFITEERS TELL IT. Millions of dollars in fines paid by fishermen to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were used by the agency's law enforcement arm to purchase vehicles and boats � including a $300,000 recreational vessel to be used for undercover work � without any oversight, NOAA's inspector general reported Thursday. The agency's Asset Forfeiture Fund � derived from fines and seizures of catches and boats from violators � took in $96 million from 2005 through mid-2009 and disbursed $49 million, according to a forensic accounting for the agency by the private firm KPMG. But early this year the fund showed a balance of $8.4 million and further accounting is required to track down the money from the loosely controlled fund, inspector general Todd Zinser reported to NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco. The fund, Zinser concluded, is "neither transparent nor conducive to accountability, thus rendering it susceptible to both error and abuse." Commercial fishermen pushed for the internal investigation that began earlier this year, charging that NOAA had allowed a bounty culture to develop in its law enforcement division and contributed to a dysfunctional relationship between the agency and industry in the Northeast. Zinser's investigation triggered the sudden resignation this spring of law enforcement chief Dale Jones, after Zinser complained Jones' office had destroyed documents. The July 1 report is a follow-up that attempts a detailed accounting of how money was spent. Among its findings: • While language in federal law appears to limit the use of forfeiture funds to direct costs of criminal investigations, NOAA officials interpet that broadly to allow expenditures such as travel to professional meetings � such as $109,000 spent to send 15 law enforcement workers to a week-long training conference in Norway. • Some 83 percent of international travel costs that totaled $580,000 from 2005 into 2009 went for training sessions or meetings. • Agency policy allows use of forfeiture money to lease vehicles, but only two of the law enforcement fleet of 202 are leased � the rest purchased mostly with forfeiture money. That's more cars and trucks than the 172 people on the payroll. • Agency policy does not allow use of the fund to buy boats, but in 2008 Jones approved purchase of the $300,000 boat without competitive bidding, an acquisition that bypassed normal internal reviews. No single individual within NOAA has a clear understanding of how the fund works, Zinser and KPMG reported. They recommend the agency institute a host of new controls, including audits and stricter rules on acceptable use of the fund. Online: NOAA inspector general's report: