NOAA budget and staff cuts bad for much more than fishing
Staff, budget, and research reductions outlined for NOAA in a Trump administration would be devastating for US agriculture, shipping, fishing, weather safety and the security of our nation as critical military missions could not run effectively without good weather reports.
The Whitehouse plan outlined in the ‘Passback memo’ to NOAA on its budget from the Office of Management and Budget will gut NOAA and smother climate research. The memo to NOAA eliminates the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research as a line item and cuts NOAA’s budget by about 30 percent.
Already important weather satellite maintenance is not being done and fishery stock assessments are being curtailed due to budget reductions.
Our economy in Rhode Island relies on NOAA to drive a billion dollar a year fishing and seafood industry.
Reductions outline by the administration will directly impact fishing by reducing funds spent on stock assessments which drive sustainable fishery management plans for important commercial and recreational species. A lack of information on how stocks are doing will increase overfishing and add to fishing plan uncertainty which will likely reduce allowable catch limits across the board, particularly for recreational fishing as extraction rates are estimates.
NOAA’s ability to provide fisheries research and analysis to support conservation and sustainable resources will be reduced, ocean exploration (much of which has been done by URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography) and species research will be gone, storm surge warnings in real time will be gone, enhancements and conservation efforts in Narragansett Bay and its estuaries will be gone as well as important partnerships and funding of collaborative efforts as we know them from such organizations as RI Sea Grant will be all gone with this new administration’s plan.
As a nation and state we need to let our U.S. senators and representatives know how much we do not want these cuts and/or the gutting of NOAA. Send your congress person an email or call them and let them know they need to take action, you can find the names of U.S. House members at https://wtheww.house.gov/representatives, contact information for U.S. Senators at https://www.senate.gov/states/statesmap.htm. It is important to have friends and relatives in other states do the same, particularly those with controlling party republican senators and congress persons.
Bluefin tuna overfishing and closure delays
The news for bluefin tuna just got worse. NOAA Fisheries announced Monday, April 14, 2025 that landings for the 2024 fishing year were 138.3 mt (9 percent) higher than the quota. Recreational landings alone were 52 percent above quota.
This bad news was preceded last month with a bluefin tuna fishery closure delay, allowing the fishery to be overfished without the ability to close it due to the Trump administration’s regulation executive order that relates for every new regulation, ten regulations have to come off the books. Fishing was excepted from a similar executive order in the first Trump administration. We need this exception today to manage fisheries to sustainable levels. See a video on this executive order at https://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/2025/04/10/how-trumps-regulatory-freeze-is-disrupting-us-fishing-pt-judith/82622596007/.
Landings for 2024, including estimated dead discards (using the 2023 dead discard estimate as a proxy), totaled 1,613.5 mt, which is 138.3 mt (nine percent) higher than the 2024 U.S. adjusted quota of 1,475.2 mt. As shown in the posted landings table, the general, harpoon, and angling category quotas were exceeded by four, eight, and 52 percent, respectively. This is the first time in more than 20 years that the U.S. adjusted quota has been exceeded. Landings of school-size bluefin tuna (measuring 27 to 47 inches curved fork length) also exceeded the internationally agreed limit in 2024. Because landings and dead discards exceeded the adjusted quota for 2024, there is no carryover of under-harvest available for use in 2025.
In an advisory this week NOAA Fisheries related it is considering options for domestic management of the 2025 Atlantic bluefin tuna quota to pay back the 2024 over-harvest along with managing category quotas in 2025.
The actions that NOAA Fisheries may consider for quota management include commercial and recreational retention limit adjustments; quota adjustments or transfers; and/or closures. NOAA Fisheries plans to discuss bluefin tuna quota matters at the HMS Advisory Panel meeting, May 6-8, 2025, including an opportunity for public comment at the end of each meeting day.
Where’s the bite?
Striped bass fishing for holdover striped bass (fish that did not migrate south) continues to be very good with anglers catching striped bass to 34 inches. Connor Swartz of Red Top Sporting Goods, Buzzards Bay, said, “The holdover striped bass fishing in estuaries is very good, but we also have some encouraging news about fresh migrating fish. The first ones were caught at the Vineyard already so in a week or two they will be at the Canal.” Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle, Providence, said, “We have fresh fish being caught in the lower bay, particularly in front of rivers that have herring runs like Narrow River, fish being caught have lice on them. We still have a good holdover striper bite too.”
“Tautog fishing is starting to kick in with private angler Band commercial tautog fisherman starting to catch some nice sized fish and it is only going to get better,” said Dave Henault of Ocean State Tackle.
Cod Fishing is still open south of Cape Cod as new regulations have still been delayed due to the new federal rule making executive order, agencies must reduce regulations by ten to introduce every new one. This executive order needs to exempt fishing (as it did in the last Trump administration) as fisheries open and close regularly based on quotas.
Freshwater trout fishing is a good bet with trout stocking recently occurring in RI and MA waterways. For complete regulations, a list of stocked ponds, and a copy of the RI Freshwater Fishing Regulations and Guide visit Fish & Wildlife | Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and in Massachusetts visit Freshwater Fishing | Mass.gov.
Dave Monti holds a master captain’s license and charter fishing license. He serves on a variety of boards and commissions and has a consulting business focusing on clean oceans, habitat preservation, conservation, renewable energy, and fisheries related issues and clients. Forward fishing news and photos to dmontifish@verizon.net or visit www.noflukefishing.com.
