U.S. lawmakers representing the state of Oregon in Congress are warning that proposed budget cuts to both NOAA and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could hurt the nation’s commercial fisheries.
“I have spoken with shrimpers in Newport, Oregon, and scientists at Oregon State University, Tribal leaders along the Columbia River, and teachers in Hillsboro. They have all highlighted how NOAA's work is far-reaching, and this is just in one of 435 congressional districts,” U.S. Representative Suzanne Bonamici (D-Oregon) said on the U.S. House Floor 15 May.
The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has proposed massive cuts to agencies that focus on climate-related work; the official fiscal year 2025 budget recommendation released at the beginning of May included a USD 1.3 billion (EUR 1.1 billion) cut to NOAA’s overall budget.
In a U.S. House Floor speech, Bonamici warned her colleagues that NOAA’s services are critical and budget cuts could have severe implications for U.S. commercial fishers. For example, the Trump administration has threatened to cut off funding for regional operations of the Integrated Ocean Observing System, which is used to help track deadly algal blooms.
“Last year, blooms of toxic algae shut down beaches, contaminated shellfish, and put about 40 Oregonians in the hospital with a paralytic shellfish poisoning. States, hospitals, and families deserve accurate information about what they are exposed to and what they consume. This should not be a luxury. This is a public service and expectation that we should be able to rely on, and we have it because of the hardworking staff at NOAA,” Bonamici said. “At a recent Oregon fisheries roundtable, one fisherman made the stakes clear: NOAA's forecasts of sea state and weather save lives.”
NOAA Fisheries is already struggling to perform basic functions after the Trump administration laid off hundreds of staffers in February. The federal government has not been transparent about which jobs have been left vacant from the layoffs, but reports have shown NOAA Fisheries struggling with basic functions following the layoffs.
“Let me be clear: Defunding NOAA will hurt Oregonians, Americans, and people across this country. It puts the lives of fishers and their crews at risk. It leaves towns without early warning. It undermines economies built on tourism, shipping, and fisheries,” Bonamici said.
Separately, U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Oregon) took time during a hearing on the Trump administration’s EPA budget proposal to point out how cuts to the agency would impact the nation’s fisheries.
“Your budget rips nearly a quarter-billion dollars out of the Office of Research and Development (ORD), which conducts the scientific research needed to inform the EPA’s decisions on questions of environmental and public safety,” Merkley said during a Senate Interior-Environment Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on the EPA budget 14 May. “For example, in Oregon, we have ORD labs in Corvallis and Newport that research how chemical contaminants will harm communities and ecosystems along the Pacific Coast – work that is critical to ensure our coastlines are healthy and productive. Pacific Northwest fisheries are the most productive in the world due to the upwelling of nutrients within the California Current System, making this research not just critical to the environment, but our very economy and livelihood.”
The Trump administration has proposed cutting the EPA’s funding by more than 50 percent.
