Washington, D.C. – Under the Trump administration’s FY 2026 budget proposal, NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is slated for sweeping reductions, totaling over $429 million in discretionary cuts. The move would slash funding for marine mammal protection, salmon conservation, fisheries data collection, and habitat restoration, while terminating entire programs like the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund and species recovery grants.
According to NOAA documents, more than 1,000 staff positions would be eliminated, effectively gutting the agency’s capacity to manage and sustain the nation’s fisheries and protected species. The proposed budget would also shift key Endangered Species Act responsibilities to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, further decentralizing marine conservation oversight.
To the average American, this may sound like bureaucratic shuffling. But the impact reaches the grocery aisle, the fishing dock, and the dinner plate. Less oversight and fewer scientific assessments mean higher risks of overfishing, more contaminated seafood, and slower responses to illegal or unregulated fishing.
Fisheries programs under NMFS help ensure that commercial and recreational fishing—industries worth billions—remain sustainable. These cuts threaten not just fish populations, but the jobs and communities that depend on them. Scientists, fishermen, and environmental advocates warn that reduced monitoring and enforcement will result in long-term ecological damage and economic loss.
As warming oceans and shifting ecosystems demand more agile and informed fisheries management, critics argue this budget goes in the opposite direction. One marine biologist put it plainly: “You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and NOAA’s being told to stop measuring.”
Next in our series: the potential fallout of cutting NOAA’s National Ocean Service, which helps keep coastal communities safe, prosperous, and prepared.
Be sure to follow us on Instagram & like us on Facebook to stay up-to-date on more relevant new stories and SUPPORT LOCAL INDEPENDENT NEWS! Have something you’d like to let us know about? Message us on our social channels and let us know about it!
