A recent Reuters article noted how President Donald Trump’s 60-day regulatory freeze issued back on January 20 could lead to problems this season on the Northeast bluefin tuna grounds. According to Reuters, the regulatory freeze allowed overfishing in waters off North Carolina of Atlantic bluefin tuna which could mean reduced quotas for New York and New England fishermen this season.
According to two letters sent to NOAA from Bill Keating, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts, bluefin tuna were overfished in the Mid-Atlantic during the winter because NOAA did not issue the regulation to close the fishery after fishermen filled the quota in mid-January.
Keating’s initial attempt to reach NOAA’s congressional liaison failed because that person had been fired, and his second attempt to warn the interim administrator went unanswered, his office said. According to the Reuters article, NOAA eventually closed the Mid-Atlantic bluefin fishery on February 28 after 125% of the catch quota had been taken.
The agency confirmed the freeze in an email but said that it would not respond to Reuters’ requests for comment on management and personnel issues. “NOAA Fisheries is complying with the Presidential Memorandum ‘Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,’ NOAA spokesperson Rachel Hager said.
“There’s just a lot of confusion right now, both internal and external,” said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, an industry group. “I’m getting calls from fishermen asking what’s going to happen.”
“Trump exempted fishing and hunting from a regulatory freeze during his first term, but no such exception has been announced during his current administration,” the Reuters article noted, adding that White House has said this time that reducing regulation will help combat inflation and drive job growth.
