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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 36 Number 3
November 2009
Absence of NMFS director worsens tensions
As anxiety and resentment build over the enormous management changes taking place in the groundfish and small-boat scallop fisheries, the question of who ultimately will run the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has become critical.
In late October, nearly a year after the presidential election, the new administration had yet to appoint a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) assistant administrator for fisheries.
Jim Balsiger, who has a long history with the agency, was named to the job in an acting capacity back in February. While he has attempted some community outreach, publishing a regular column in the Gloucester Daily Times since last winter, for example, it has been difficult to think of Balsiger as the NMFS director with all the speculation going on about his successor.
One industry member recently warned that the agency was “adrift” and suggested this leadership vacuum has cut off an effective line of communication between NMFS and its constituents and NMFS and NOAA Chief Jane Lubchenco, exacerbating tensions at all levels.
Some of the names floated for the job have been intriguing. One was scientist, policy adviser, and educator Brian Rothschild, admired by many, especially in New Bedford and Gloucester, for his innovative thinking and support for cooperative research. Another was Arne Fuglvog, a former commercial fisherman, former member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and staffer for Republican US Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Also in the mix was Steve Murawski, director of scientific programs and chief science adviser for NMFS, an effective communicator who, during his tenure at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, MA, was known for his respect of fishermen’s experience and knowledge.
None of these candidates appears to have gained the traction needed to move forward in the selection process. The slow pace of that process prompted Fuglvog to remove his name from consideration over the summer because being a candidate was interfering with his work commitments to Sen. Murkowski.
The absence of an effective national organization representing the interests of commercial fishermen and the resulting inability of the fishing industry on both coasts to come together and support one of these candidates may be part of the reason there has not yet been an appointment.
Even worse, the lack of unity in the commercial industry has left a vacuum all its own, one that sportfishing and environmental interests, who are well organized and funded, are in a good position to fill.
In October, an Alaskan blogger reported that Elliott Norse of the Marine Conservation Biology Institute was being considered for the top NMFS job. Norse is infamous in the Northeast for condemning bottom trawl fishing, which he compared to forest “clear cutting.” The report of Norse’s candidacy, which quickly circulated through the electronic media, was soon denied by NOAA. But it made a lot of people wonder just how far afield the NMFS administrator appointment could wind up being.
NMFS needs someone at the helm of the ship – now. And the person who fills this critical slot must have astute political, leadership, and communication skills. Even more importantly, the NMFS administrator has to be someone who understands that there are two parts to the fishery management equation – the fish and the fishermen. /cfn/
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