More Than 800 Businesses and Organizations Urge Congress to Protect the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Press Release Date: March 10, 2025
Location: WASHINGTON
Contact:
Erin Vande Ven, Megan Jordan | email: EVandeVen@oceana.org, mjordan@oceana.org | tel: 303.829.3877, 202.868.4061
More than 800 businesses and organizations across the United States have signed a letter urging Congress to reject further attacks by the Trump administration on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The letter is signed by businesses, scientific research organizations, tribal councils, and conservation groups. Citing grave concern over continued threats to the agency, including staff layoffs, budget cuts, and other actions that jeopardize the agency’s key functions, the groups are calling on lawmakers to oppose threats to NOAA’s services and mission.
Legislation currently under consideration in Congress to fund the federal government through the second half of the fiscal year (H.R. 1968) raises additional concerns. Rather than maintaining government funding at current levels, the bill would reduce funding for domestic needs, including almost an 11% cut for NOAA. Unlike a typical funding bill, which contains detailed guidance from Congress on how funds should be allocated, this bill provides greater scope for the Trump administration to target NOAA programs and staff for elimination.
NOAA is a world-renowned science agency that positions the United States as a leader on global issues, including oceans and weather. The agency manages our nation’s fisheries, monitors and forecasts our weather, charts our oceans, and protects our coastal communities and infrastructure. It has set the standard for fishery management around the world. The U.S. marine economy, supported by NOAA, generated $777 billion in sales in 2022 alone. This includes the backing of 2.4 million jobs and $476 billion in economic impact. The marine economy made up nearly 2% of the nation’s 2022 gross domestic product (GDP).
“Gutting resources from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) endangers American lives and harms U.S. businesses,” said Beth Lowell, Oceana Vice President for the United States. “NOAA plays such a seamless role in everyday life that many people don’t even realize how much we rely on its crucial services. Millions of Americans depend on healthy oceans and thriving fisheries for their jobs, businesses, and even the meals they feed their families. Investing in NOAA is investing in the U.S. economy and American jobs. Congress must safeguard this vital agency and protect our oceans for everyone who depends on clean and healthy waters.”
“Trump’s mass firings at NOAA are an act of sabotage aimed at one of our most important federal agencies,” said Miyoko Sakashita, the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans director. “Gutting NOAA will hamstring essential lifesaving programs that forecast storms, ensure ocean safety, and prevent the extinction of whales and sea otters. I think most Americans want these kinds of vital government services protected, and we’ll do everything we can to defend them.”
“Messing with the federal workforce charged with ensuring Americans know when severe weather is headed their way, that commercial fishing seasons start on time, protecting vital services the ocean provides us, or managing special places our families love to visit – just to name a few – is a classic ‘cutting off your nose to spite your face’ mentality,” said Sarah Winter Whelan, Executive Director, Healthy Ocean Coalition. “It’s a sad fact that impacts of these firings and cuts will hit us all in some way. Whether it is delayed warnings for dangerous weather, fishermen unable to fish, or lost economic opportunities for Americans and coastal communities derived from our ocean economy. We have to stand up for the people at NOAA and the important work they do.”
“The Trump administration’s mass firing of NOAA employees is an unwarranted assault on one of our nation’s most important agencies,” said Pete Stauffer, Ocean Protection Manager, Surfrider Foundation. “From weather forecasting to coastal management to marine wildlife protections, Americans rely on NOAA’s vital services every day. The agency protects beaches and shorelines that attract millions of visitors and power a recreation and tourism economy valued at $240 billion annually. NOAA is also a global leader in climate change science and helps communities plan for hurricanes and other natural disasters. Surfrider Foundation calls on Congress to reject the administration’s attacks on NOAA and protect the agency’s staffing, programs, and funding.”
“For Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo (KUA), our mission is to increase ʻāina momona (abundance) of our shared biocultural resources through strengthening Native Hawaiian traditional and customary practices and community-based management and partnerships with the government,” said Olan Leimomi Fisher, Kuaʻāina Advocate, Kuaʻāina Ulu ʻAuamo. “Our purpose therefore overlaps significantly with that of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to understand and adapt to our ever-changing environment, share their information with communities, and conserve and manage coastal and marine ecosystems and resources. Although we focus much of our efforts at the state and local levels, we highly value the added layers of support, information, and collaboration that NOAA and its staff provide to not only KUA directly, but also many of our community-based network members and friends. We have several friends and partners within NOAA staff, and consider them a part of our KUA ʻohana, so it pains us greatly to hear of the uncertainty and fear within their organization in light of current Executive administration plans. We strongly urge Congress to oppose any actions that would potentially undermine NOAA and the essential work that they do to protect our resources and uplift communities that depend on them.”
Some potential ocean-related consequences from cutting NOAA resources include:
- Eliminating the weather service that provides crucial information about impending disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, and wildfires, among others. This important weather data also guides the daily lives and business activities for millions of people across the United States;
- Ending the study and management of healthy U.S. oceans and fisheries that benefit Americans. U.S. fisheries set the bar as some of the best managed, most abundant in the world, but without effective management, U.S. waters could be overfished, depleted, and empty;
- Increasing imports of illegally sourced or mislabeled seafood into the United States that will unfairly disadvantage U.S. fishers;
- Endangering marine wildlife like North Atlantic right whales and leatherback sea turtles in U.S. waters.
For more information about why we need NOAA, visit OurOceanFuture.org.
