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Federal cuts ordered by the Trump administration reached Massachusetts in late February, when the NOAA Fisheries’ workforce from Maine to North Carolina was slashed.
Hundreds more cuts may happen this week, when department heads must meet a deadline to submit proposals for “large-scale” reductions in force at their respective agencies to not only terminate people, but eliminate their positions altogether.
This means more scientists and analysts who protect and manage the country’s commercial fisheries may soon lose their jobs. Their terminations have raised concerns about the future of the fishing industry, the science that underlies its management, and the people who rely on it for work and for food. That’s especially true in New Bedford, the country’s highest-value fishing port, where the new scallop season is about to start.
NOAA Fisheries terminations: what we know
NOAA Fisheries is the federal steward of the oceans and their resources, including endangered marine mammals. With science as its foundation and guide, it manages more than 400 fish stocks.
NOAA Fisheries’ parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which hosts the critically important National Weather Service, has seen about 1,300 terminations already, per the New York Times. Another 10% could be cut in this next round, one source told The Light.
The agency and the Office of Personnel Management did not answer questions from The Light on how many people were terminated in Massachusetts (or nationally) in February, and what their positions were.
During a conference hosted by U.S. Rep. Seth Magaziner (D-RI), Janet Coit, the assistant administrator at NOAA Fisheries who resigned in January, said at least 20 employees in NOAA Fisheries’ Rhode Island and Woods Hole offices were terminated.
She called the terminations of “some of the best and the brightest” indiscriminate and not strategic, saying the Trump administration used a loophole to fire long-term employees with institutional knowledge, who were technically probationary because they had received a promotion or assumed a new position.
Some probationary members who were terminated had worked for the agency for many years as contract workers, and had only recently been onboarded as federal employees.
Terminations included the head of NOAA’s marine carbon dioxide removal office and the director of NOAA’s ocean acidification program, both of which research issues critical to the fishing industry and its future viability.
The Trump administration’s cuts also have extended to advisory committees, including one established in 1971: the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. It was staffed by representatives from universities, the commercial fishing industry, environmental nonprofits and seafood companies.
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Sarah Schumann, a commercial fisherman in Rhode Island who was serving her third year as a committee member, said it was an excellent venue for fishermen to have their interests and concerns heard by the higher levels of government on how fisheries can be better managed.
“We’ve been robbed of a voice,” she said. “It felt like a real place to collaboratively, honestly evaluate the larger scale trajectory of fisheries management in the U.S. And now that that’s gone.”
Her position was volunteer-based and unpaid. She said the budget was negligible.
A notice on NOAA’s committee webpage reads, “The Secretary of Commerce has determined that the purposes for which the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee was established have been fulfilled, and the committee has been terminated.” Schumann said she didn’t get more information than that.
“I don’t think the Trump administration’s decision to cut committees like that has anything to do with saving money,” Schumann said. “It’s consistent with a larger emphasis within this administration to bring everything under the control of the White House and to remove any source of independence that our public agencies might have.”
“The ocean is getting more complicated. I really fear reducing our scientific capacity at a time like this is a huge mistake,” she continued.
Several people in the fisheries field that The Light spoke with, including those who were terminated from NOAA Fisheries, said they didn’t have much information on the cuts and that the only source had been media reports.
“These are important functions and we don’t know. Everyone is in the dark,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Keating in an interview with The Light. “They’re doing it this way because they don’t want scrutiny … The public would be able to know what was being cut and be able to react to that. We don’t know who, we don’t know the positions.”
The fisheries agency has two major footprints in Massachusetts: the Northeast Science Fisheries Center in Woods Hole (staffed largely with scientists and researchers); and the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) in Gloucester (staffed by analysts who handle the regulatory side).
It also has an office in downtown New Bedford, where seafood inspectors and fisheries analysts share a space with the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. The Greek Revival building briefly appeared this month on a list of federal leases the Trump administration plans on selling, The Light reported.
Keating said his office heard from a New Bedford constituent, who worked as a NOAA seafood inspector and was terminated. Through this program, the industry pays inspectors to ensure compliance to food quality and safety standards. Participants can use official markings on their products showing they have been federally inspected.
Possible impacts to New Bedford’s scallop fishery
The scallop season is set to start on April 1, and fishermen are still awaiting final action from the federal government stating where they can fish, how many days they can fish, and how much fish they can catch for the year.
Each year, the New England Fishery Management Council, a non-governmental entity authorized by Congress, makes recommendations for each fishery. This year, it’s called Scallop Framework 39.
The council’s recommendation went to the regional NOAA Fisheries agency, GARFO, for approval in December. Where it stands now remains unclear. A GARFO spokesperson said by email that the rulemaking to implement the 2025 scallop framework is currently under review, but would not provide further information on what steps remain in the way of final approval.
After GARFO approval, it’s sent to NOAA Fisheries headquarters, which has to issue the framework as a regulation.
This is all done under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, enacted in 1976 to prevent overfishing, and ensure fisheries are sustainable for future generations.
Usually, this framework gets approved before April 1. But that likely won’t happen this year. If it doesn’t, the fishery has to adopt what’s called a default measure, which is less quota and fewer days at sea, until the new framework is approved.
“It has been mired down in bureaucracy in Washington right now. What I’m hearing is it’s doubtful it’ll be implemented on time,” said one New Bedford scalloper, who didn’t want to be named due to the uncertainty of what might happen. “The hope is, it will be implemented 90 days late.”
“If people are aware of impacts, they are concerned,” he said, when asked about the Trump administration’s cuts to NOAA Fisheries. “Some aren’t aware and think government and regulations are bad and have ruined the fishery, and are welcoming the cuts. But that’s not going to solve the issue that they have a problem with.”
There’s also concern about President Trump’s executive order to deregulate the government could mean when it comes to passing requisite regulations for fisheries. The order requires an agency to identify at least 10 rules or regulations that should be repealed for every new rule it promulgates.
Another New Bedford fisherman, Tony Alvernaz, said the scallop framework has been delayed before, and that he doesn’t think Trump is to blame. Instead, he directed his criticism to the regulators and fishery managers.
“How many fishermen are left, and how many regulators and scientists are left to manage us? Try to get that number,” Alvernaz said, suggesting there are too many regulators for what he sees as a struggling and overregulated industry.
NEFMC Director Cate O’Keefe declined an interview. In an email, she said the council “does not have information about how the recent changes may impact fisheries management in the region” at this time.
The council’s counterpart on the Pacific coast has said the NOAA cuts are “troubling.”
Impacts to fisheries science and management
Federal scientists say their data and analysis play a critical role in the successful management and economic viability of fisheries. Cuts to funding and staff could delay the science, limit data collection, and lead to more restrictive regulations.
Economic viability matters a lot in New Bedford, where fishing vessels landed $440 million worth of seafood, 80% of which was scallops, in 2023.
In the absence of sufficient data or analysis (which could happen if a federal survey gets defunded and canceled, or analysts have been fired), stock managers will take a precautionary approach and err on the conservative side to avoid overfishing. This means setting a lower fishing quota, which means fishermen may not catch as much.
“If we don’t have the data, we can’t process the data or don’t have enough people, everything gets delayed,” said the New Bedford scalloper. “It’s fair to say the loss of the one federal survey could impact quota.”
Again, not all fishermen agree. Many support Trump and hope he will scale back regulation. Some regularly call for the defunding of NOAA, and cited their frustration with the agency as a reason they voted for Trump in November, The Light previously reported.
The Light spoke with staffers from Woods Hole and Gloucester, both of whom were terminated at the end of February for being probationary employees, meaning they had been in the position less than one or two years.
One, who requested anonymity over fear of retaliation (and uncertainty about possible reversals of terminations) worked at GARFO to ensure sustainable fisheries, with a focus on scallops.
“We worked really directly with industry members as well as the council,” the fired employee said. “It’s a really technical job and requires experience in a lot of areas of science.” They shared that another member of their team was also terminated.
They were taking calls from fishermen, some of whom expressed confusion and frustration that the regulations for this scallop year haven’t been finalized.
Alvernaz said he wasn’t too concerned, noting delays have happened before, and that Trump wasn’t president during those times.
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director Daniel McKiernan told The Light that his office is concerned about the federal job and funding cuts within NOAA Fisheries, stating it plays an essential role in managing and conserving the state’s marine resources.
It “may harm our state’s ability to conduct research and assess fish populations. This would negatively affect our commercial fishers, seafood dealers, aquaculture operators, and seafood processors who work tirelessly to provide healthy seafood, support our coastal communities, and provide for their families,” McKiernan said in a statement.
McKiernan also touched on impacts of Trump’s executive actions, saying they have already constrained NOAA Fisheries’ ability to manage fisheries, specifically the bluefin tuna.
A DMF spokesperson said the agency is closely monitoring the potential impacts, and is concerned about NOAA Fisheries being able to pass the new quota and framework for the groundfish industry by May 1. If it doesn’t get adopted, the fishery can’t open and vessels would remain at the docks, per DMF.
Sarah Cierpich, who was terminated in February from a NOAA Fisheries office in Woods Hole, also cautioned about the impacts the cuts could have on the fishing industry.
“It’s very unfortunate to think about the rebuilding that we’re going to have to do after this,” she said. “If there is some kind of regulations freeze, it can end up where people can’t fish.”
Cierpich was a longtime contractor with the agency before she was onboarded as a federal employee in September. She started as an observer, working on fishing vessels, tracking bycatch and collecting samples to send to the lab. Most recently, she served as an observer systems specialist and manager of a notification system that fishermen use.
Cierpich lost access to her work systems soon after receiving her termination notice by email.
“Everything I collaborated on, all my codes, I had no opportunity to transfer it to anyone … data that could be used by colleagues to further the mission of NOAA,” she said. “It’s not a professional way to treat individuals or the folks that are remaining.”
Cierpich attended a Stand Up for Science protest last week in Woods Hole, attended by hundreds and one of many that happened across the country that day. She held a handmade sign with a dead fish painted atop an old NOAA nautical map.
In the backdrop stood a NOAA Fisheries building, whose logo appeared on some of the posters held up that afternoon, but with a twist. The white seagull connecting the sky and sea was shot down by a red arrow, leaving a black void in its place.
The terminated scientist from GARFO did not mince words on what may be to come.
“A lot of institutional knowledge has been lost,” they said. “It’s going to severely impact the way that fisheries are managed.”
Email Anastasia E. Lennon at alennon@newbedfordlight.org or by Signal at aelennon.65.
No one disputes the fact that there is government waste and some jobs in NOAA and other agencies can / should be eliminated in order to make their respective purposes more efficient but doing so in this broad-brushed / haphazard manner with little regard for who and where they are cutting is wreckless. I for one would like to see a more efficient and viable method of conducting stock assessments which would translate to better and more realistic quota allocations which align with the true state of the resource and the various fish species. I wish the Trump administration would take a more methodical approach and look at that aspect and not simply eliminate jobs out of revenge for their general disdain and hatred of our government. On that theme there is no doubt that NOAA has failed miserably in their stock assessments relying solely on their “expertise” and research metrics; specifically arbitrary (and costly) trawl surveys, many of which are conducted in the wrong place at the wrong times of the year and extrapolating the resulting numbers as reality. We can do better than that but that doesn’t mean we should simply eliminate jobs at NOAA, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute and other quasi-government agencies indiscriminately. I feel sorry for Sarah and folks like her who have worked hard and dedicated their lives to these positions only to have the rug pulled out from under them with no regard for the consequences. As a whole, NOAA can be viewed as a rogue agency but that doesn’t mean its individual components are all bad; I have known many fine individuals who work at NOAA who are very good at their jobs and for whom I have respect for. Trump’s throwing out the baby with the bath water approach I fear will have dire consequences that even his staunchest supporters may come to regret. Time will tell….
With the US Debt currently at $36.2 Trillion dollars, and the interest costs alone of $880 Billion dollars for 2025, that’s a huge problem that both parties in Congress have completely ignored for over 15 years, and it has to be addressed with deep spending cuts, and/or significant tax increases that aren’t paid by the lowest wage earners, and despite Democrats repeatedly calling for the wealthiest 10% of Americans to be taxed at 50% to “pay their fair share”, there aren’t enough Billionaires in America to pay that debt, and the middle class Americans who already pay the highest income tax rates, property taxes, healthcare premiums, water & sewer rates, Massachusettes sales tax on everything and on almost everything purchased, and fees increased on every service, there isn’t much left to tax. Also, with Massachusetts new tax on people with an annual income of $1 Million dollars or more, Google the number of those residents who have moved to neighboring states to avoid that tax, and see how ineffective it is, and by 2026, it will create more lost revenue than it ever generated.
Deep spending cuts are on the horizon for everything, and everyone, and the lowest 50% of residents will be hurt the most, while the MA Democrat dominant Senators, Representatives, and Governor just gave themselves a 11% pay raise, and Governor Healy received a 10% pay raise! Weren’t the Democrats the party of the working class and poor? Not anymore, they just tax & spend.
Related to federal funding cuts, to those interested, there will be a rally today, the 11th, in front of the federal building, downtown New Bedford, at 5 p.m. Of course, the greater the number of people who show up for rallies, marches, etc. the better.
You can have the entire population of New Bedford surround the federal building in New Bedford, and protest every day for 6 months, but the $1 Trillion + federal tax payer dollars that are wasted, and fraudulently spent by the corrupt liberal Democrats in Congress, Biden, and Obama have been, and will be cut by the DOGE employees led by Elon Musk, who was appointed by a “Real” POTUS, President Donald Trump, who was elected by Republican, and Independent American voters, people who can read, and realize the $36.2 Trillion dollar debt, with the 2025 interest payments alone is almost $900 Billion dollars is unsustainable, and spending MUST be cut, or America will be bankrupt within 12 years.
Look what’s become of our fishing indusrty…before all this.
Big bloated government whether it’s here in our City, State, or in the Federal Government has to go. No sympathy for NOAA, the scientists, and the failed far left liberal democrats who support fishing regulations, offshore wind, and turned their backs on saving the whales.
To protest the many cuts already made and others likely to follow, come to a rally at Buttonwood Park tomorrow, the 15th, 11:00 a.m. , on Rockdale Avenue across from the Union and Court Streets intersections.
Everyone in and around New Bedford, from the residents in the greater New Bedford area including surrounding cities and towns, to the fishing industry employees, fishing boat owners, seafood processing plants, and businesses the produce products like nets, rope, and much more, we all know the billions of dollars the fishing industry has made in profits over the past 75 to 100 years alone, and the thousands of fishermen, captains, boat owners, property, and business owners that started with little to nothing, worked extremely hard in difficult to horrible conditions, that resulted in thousands of them who became multimillionaires.
With that being said, if NOAA, and the other related organizations, and their employees in every job from data collection, ocean, weather, fish population data analysts, scientists, climatologist, and all other jobs & employees related to the industry, and environment are so critical, then why don’t the 3 to 6 or more generations of multimillionaires who own the land, the fishing boats, the buildings, seafood processing plants, and business owners in the fishing industry, and all of the business owners who manufacture, sell, and distribute the products purchased by the seafood, and fishing industry owners who rely heavily on the fishing industry for 50% or more of their business sales, earnings, and profits, all get together, and they can pay all of those NOAA employees compensation packages, like salaries, healthcare, dental, pension funds, and/or 401k matching funds, paid holidays, vacations, etc.???
Why should the federal, state, city, towns, and local tax payers fund NOAA, and other organizations operational expenses, employees salaries & benefits, and all other related costs? What’s in it for the tax payers? Nothing! The tax payers fund all the above expenses for all of those state, and federal government organizations, and all other NGO expenses while the fishing industry business owners, and boat owners get rich. If NOAA and related government organization services are so vital, the multimillionaires can pay them, not the already overtaxed shrinking middle class tax payers who are already paying for Section 8 rent subsidies for the minimum wage, low income, and no income tenants, the lifelong housing projects tenants who don’t even pay for utilities while the middle class and full time working class tax payers just received, and paid the February, and March record breaking highest natural gas, and electric bills in their lives, and it wasn’t even a very cold winter, and we’re also still forced to pay for all the illegal immigrants medical, housing, food, and additional costs of their children being educated in our public schools at no cost to them, the MA and federal tax payers are forced to pay to educate the children of illegal immigrants.
So all of the NOAA employees, don’t go protest in front of the federal building, go protest on the waterfront in New Bedford.
NOAA has screwed over the fishing industry and fisherman for years. Using data that was questionable at best. Now the table’s have turned, let the fisherman do what they do best, catch product.