WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Trump administration released an executive order Thursday evening titled “Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness” that risks driving fish stocks into decline. Meredith Moore, Ocean Conservancy’s Senior Director, Fish Conservation Program, issued the following statement in response: 

“Between firing experts at NOAA, delaying fishing seasons and disrupting ocean science and data collection, the Trump Administration is causing unprecedented chaos. Today’s Executive Order would weaken, not strengthen, our fishing industry by increasing the risk that overfishing drives our fish stocks into decline, effectively taking healthy U.S. seafood off the menu. The U.S. fishing management system already maximizes catch to the limit that science says is sustainable. Regulations support sustainable access to these public resources, and removing them risks a future where healthy ocean fish stocks are a memory. Our fisheries need more investment and support in order to tackle the issues of seafood trade and markets, modernizing our data systems and responding to real time ocean conditions. A weakened and understaffed NOAA will not be able to deliver on these promises.”

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