NOAA cuts hinder Alaska fisheries management, officials say

Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries told the North Pacific Fishery Management Council that Trump administration job cuts are undermining the scientific work needed to manage Alaska’s seafood harvests, the Alaska Beacon has reported. Since January, NOAA’s Alaska regional office has lost 28 employees — roughly a quarter of its workforce — and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center has lost 51, affecting up to 30% of its operations, according to directors Jon Kurland and Robert Foy.

Services now compromised include catch-tracking IT systems and fish age analysis, which Foy said is down 40%. Research at Little Port Walter Research Station has been canceled. The cuts are linked to the Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk, which has targeted NOAA operations in accordance with Project 2025. Council members expressed concern that reduced data may increase the risk of overharvesting.