Lubchenco Leaving NOAA Head Post
NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco has submitted her resignation as Chief Administrator at NOAA effective in February 2013. In a letter to her staff, which has been posted on the agency website (There is also a link at fishermensvoice.com) Lubchenco referred to her plans to return to her family on the west coast and to academia.
Lubchenco was appointed by President Obama in his first term. She became the target of criticism from fishermen in the northeast for her positions and what was considered a disconnect with the industry. Northeast fishermen saw her support of quota systems as the transition to a privatization of the ocean resource.
At the time the Environmental Defense Fund was promoting privatization of the fisheries as a means for trading fishing quota as commodities on the stock exchange. EDF executives were promoting the plans at former bond trader Michael Millken’s West coast Millken Institute to investment interests.
Fishermen were critical of Lubchenco for what they called an apparent lack of concern for the impact this would have on fishing communities and the relevance of the Magnuson Stevens Act in this case.
In her letter to her staff Lubchenco wrote, “Through an emphasis on transparency, integrity, innovation, team work and communication, we have made significant progress on multiple fronts.” She listed 20 achievements during her tenure. Of those three were related to commercial fishing, the others were related to the many other departments within NOAA
They were:
Ending over-fishing, rebuilding depleted stocks, and returning fishing to profitability;
Leveling the playing field for our fishermen and by reducing “pirate fishing.”
Strengthening NOAA’s fishery enforcement program by implementing policy, oversight, personnel and procedural changes to increase effectiveness and transparency;
Fishermen in the northeast might be particularly befuddled by the “ending over-fishing” achievement as they face 70% cuts in some quota this year and equally distressing cuts in others.
She ended with this financial statement. “All this and more for less than a nickel a day from each tax payer — now that’s a bargain!” There was no explanation of the math that arrived at this statement or what it means, exactly.