Contact: Brian Gorman FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(206) 526-6613 10/30/95
David A. McKinney, a 14-year veteran of wildlife law enforcement and since 1987 a law-enforcement agent with the fisheries enforcement division of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has been named to head up the fisheries service's overall law enforcement operation headquartered in Silver Spring, Md.
"Dave McKinney has the experience and expertise to lead the Enforcement Division during these challenging times of marine fisheries conservation and rebuilding," said National Marine Fisheries Service Director Rollie Schmitten. "Dave reflects the best of a highly qualified list of candidates and his strong leadership bolsters our commitment to fisheries service enforcement."
Most recently, McKinney was special-agent-in-charge, running the NMFS Northwest region law enforcement division in Seattle, where his responsibilities included managing a federal marine law enforcement operation for a nine-state region in the Pacific Northwest.
McKinney began his law enforcement career in 1981 as a state trooper for Alaska's division of fish and wildlife protection in Ketchikan.
After joining NMFS' enforcement office in 1987, he became successively a special agent in Sitka, Alaska; a program planning officer for the enforcement office in Silver Spring, Md., and chief of the office's management support operations division, also in Silver Spring. He was named the Northwest region's special-agent- in-charge in 1993.
As director of the office of enforcement, McKinney will supervise the work of a staff of about 180 men and women, including 140 field personnel. The office's current budget is about $15 million.
The division enforces federal marine wildlife and fisheries laws throughout the United States and its trust territories, including the 200-mile-wide exclusive economic zone.
McKinney holds a J.D. degree in international law and a B.S. in police science, both from Columbia Pacific University. He is the co-author of a book on commercial fishing safety and has published numerous papers and articles on marine resource law enforcement.
He is married and has two daughters.