Marine Conservation Institute Says President’s Budget Proposal ‘Tears Holes in Safety Net’ for Ocean Health
Washington D.C.— Marine Conservation Institute, a leader in securing strong protection for the oceans’ most important places, criticized President Trump’s Fiscal Year 2018 Budget Proposal for cuts to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) that impact marine sanctuaries and monuments, estuarine reserves, ocean and climate research, and managing protected species.
Dr. Lance Morgan, president of Marine Conservation Institute said, “The proposed budget effectively guts key programs that conserve marine life and will impact local economies dependent on healthy, living oceans,” adding, “NOAA has made demonstrable progress year after year recovering dozens of decimated fish populations, bringing iconic marine mammals like Hawaiian monk seals and humpback whales back from the brink of extinction, cracking down on illegal seafood imports that drain oceans of marine life, providing critical climate change observations and science, and managing millions of acres of marine sanctuaries, marine monuments and estuarine reserves that provide climate resilience to our coasts and citizens. Yet President Trump’s budget proposal for NOAA tears a huge hole in the agency’s safety net for ocean health.”
Overall cuts to NOAA’s discretionary spending from FY 2017 spending ($5.762B) to FY 2018 proposed budget ($4.967 B) approximate $800 million or 14%. These cuts are not distributed evenly. They impact ocean and atmospheric research (32% cut), sea…
