Alaska’s fishing industry and environmental groups don’t always agree. But this week, they were on the same side — both warning that recent cuts to federal fisheries science could jeopardize Alaska’s oceans.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which helps set fishing rules in federal waters, wraps up its meeting Tuesday in Oregon.
According to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials attending the meeting, the Alaska Science Center has lost 51 employees since February — about a quarter of its staff.
“You can’t lose 51 people and not have that impact our ability to provide our products in a meaningful and timely way,” said Bob Foy, who directs NOAA’s science operations in Alaska. “It's been a challenging process.”
The cuts are the work of the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, a Trump initiative whose stated goal is eliminating waste in government programs. The effort has been marked by confusion and controversy since its inception in January.
Groups on both sides of the fishing debate say DOGE’s damage is real — and growing.
Foy said the cuts have weakened the agency’s annual bottom trawl survey, a major effort by scientists to evaluate marine health and assess fish populations.
“There will be a substantial decrease in what we bring forward,” Foy said.
Ben Enticknap is a senior scientist with the conservation group Oceana. He says the losses are weakening NOAA’s ability to manage fish stocks and protect sensitive ecosystems.
“We really need a fully funded NOAA Fisheries program so that we can all come together and make sure that we have sustainable fisheries,” he said.
The federal fisheries observer program is also strained. Observers are trained scientists who ride on commercial fishing boats, collecting data on fish stocks, bycatch and compliance. Despite a sometimes adversarial relationship with observers, many fishermen have spoken out in support of the observer program since it became threatened earlier this year.
Chris Woodley, head of the trade group Groundfish Forum, which represents Bering Sea trawlers, called the program the “backbone of the North Pacific fisheries.”
“Without observers, there are no fish and there is no revenue,” he said.
Woodley did express support for other Trump proposals, however, like opening fishing in protected areas such as sea lion habitat.
The council is expected to continue the discussion at its next meeting in October.
