July 22, 2013 — The following is from the Senate Committee on Appropriations report on appropriation (S. 1329) for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science, and Related Agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2014:
"Given NOAA’s lack of cooperation and reversal of commitment, the Committee has no choice but to take action and direct NOAA to close NERO immediately and to dissolve all necessary operations into existing facilities located throughout the region."
The Committee notes with grave disappointment that NOAA has determined that NMFS will not act on amenable direction set forth in the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill to enhance and repair core NMFS functions in the Mid-Atlantic region in the areas of fisheries management, endangered species, habitat protection, and restoration.
Furthermore, NOAA has not delivered, and has no timeline for delivering, a report that was requested by the Committee to be delivered 30 days after enactment of the fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill on ways NOAA would: ‘‘(1) streamline procedures to allow Mid-Atlantic fisheries decisions to be made locally rather than remotely, as appropriate and consistent with procedures and practices in other NMFS regions; (2) increase the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s accessibility to NOAA, consistent with the accessibility afforded to other fishery management councils; (3) reduce bureaucracy to allow difficult Mid-Atlantic issues to be brought to the attention of the NMFS Northeast Regional Office [NERO] and NOAA Fisheries leadership in NOAA headquarters on an expedited basis; and (4) improve on-the-ground coordination with Mid-Atlantic fisheries partners.’’
Such direction had been mutually agreed upon by the Committee and NOAA after the Committee has proposed moving operations of NERO to NMFS’s headquarters to more centrally locate regional presence after witnessing years of disproportionate attention across NERO’s vast jurisdiction. However, given NOAA’s lack of cooperation and reversal of commitment, the Committee has no choice but to take action and direct NOAA to close NERO immediately and to dissolve all necessary operations into existing facilities located throughout the region.
Specifically, NOAA is directed to improve outreach and services to the fishing industry by configuring fishery science centers and fishery statistic offices as newly configured and less stove-piped portals to the local fishing communities. With minimal overhead in- vestment, including technology investment and updated staffing plans, these offices could be much better utilized to serve a larger NMFS purpose. Instead of relying on, or having to travel to, the NERO office for direct industry support, fishermen would have better and more immediate access to NMFS support services at exist- ing NMFS offices in their home states, if not their homeports. The Committee directs NOAA to ensure that core NMFS support services be retained and accessible in all regions currently served by NERO, including New England, Mid-Atlantic, and South-Atlantic regions, at these local centers and offices. NOAA, in consultation with the Committee, shall work with the General Services Administration immediately to develop a plan to resolve NERO’s current leased space, and create a plan to redirect an adequate portion of NERO’s larger operational costs to outfit the local regional offices.
Read the full bill from the Committee on Appropriations