With seafood fraud a continuing problem in Maryland and across the nation, environmentalists, fishermen and lawmakers are expressing concern about a decline in the number of special investigative agents and enforcement cases at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Changes at the agency, which is responsible for protecting fishery resources in federal waters, could make it more difficult to investigate complex cases involving seafood that is mislabeled or caught in violation of quotas, they said, responding to the findings of a Baltimore Sun investigation.

The declines are "really troubling to see when we have these issues of illegal fish and seafood fraud," said Beth Lowell, campaign director at Oceana, a conservation group that has found high levels of seafood fraud across the U.S. "You can't put one guy on a boat and expect to find a problem. To get a reduction of illegal fishing and seafood fraud, you need to be able to track a network of criminal activity."

Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, noted that President Obama has asked several federal agencies, including NOAA, to develop a plan for cracking down on seafood fraud and black-market fishing. That task force is expected to release recommendations this week.

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