As the primary regulator of American fisheries, NOAA sets restrictions and enforces laws that prevent overfishing and ensures the safety of the seafood supply.
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As the primary regulator of American fisheries, NOAA sets restrictions and enforces laws that prevent overfishing and ensures the safety of the seafood supply.
March 3, 2025
After several hundred employees were fired from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last week as part of DOGE’s workforce cuts, reporting has focused on how those cuts might threaten critical weather modeling and systems that help predict and warn the public about severe weather events such as hurricanes and tsunamis.
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In response to a question asking for more details on the staff cuts, a NOAA spokesperson told Civil Eats that “per long-standing practice, we are not discussing internal personnel and management matters.” But reports suggest staff cuts have happened across all six offices within NOAA, including the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
As the primary regulator of American fisheries, NMFS sets restrictions and enforces laws that prevent overfishing, ensures the safety of the seafood supply, and is involved in permitting for aquaculture systems. It also provides a wealth of data the American seafood industry relies on, including maps, assessments, and research on the state of the oceans and marine life.
As a result, experts and lawmakers are concerned. One former NOAA administrator told a trade publication the impacts on fisheries could be serious. Representative Seth Magaziner (D-Rhode Island) is holding a roundtable discussion today to discuss impacts on his state’s fishing and aquaculture industries, and Representatives from California and Colorado have sent letters calling for investigations into the cuts. Representative Jared Huffman (D-California) told The Hill that he’s been speaking to fisherman and individuals from the shellfish industry who are distressed by the cuts.
Huffman has also expressed concern over NOAA’s climate work, since staff were reportedly directed to make lists of grants that reference the climate crisis and other related terms. NOAA is a premier provider of climate science, and the crisis has profound impacts on fisheries, with warming ocean temperatures and shifting currents affecting marine life in profound ways.
Asked whether and how the cuts might impact the work NMFS does, the NOAA spokesperson said the agency does not do speculative interviews. “NOAA remains dedicated to its mission, providing timely information, research, and resources that serve the American public and ensure our nation’s environmental and economic resilience,” he added. (Link to this post.)
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