April 27, 2026
Representative Hal Rogers
Chair
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Representative Grace Meng
Ranking Member
Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies
Committee on Appropriations
United States House of Representatives
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Chair Rogers and Ranking Member Meng,
AFS is the world’s oldest and largest professional society of fishery and aquatic scientists and managers. The society seeks to improve the conservation and sustainability of fishery resources and aquatic ecosystems by advancing fisheries and aquatic science, promoting the development of fisheries professionals, and advocating for the use of best available science in policy-making. We respectfully submit the following testimony for the Fiscal Year 2027 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act.
NOAA Fisheries
We urge you to maintain appropriate funding and staffing to ensure that NOAA’s Fisheries is able to sustainably manage our nation’s fisheries. The very foundation of natural-resources conservation in this country rests on science to inform decisions and is supported by a strong workforce of professionals to ensure sustainable use and enjoyment for all citizens. Our continued system of federal investment in natural resource conservation returns enormous dividends for the country and the world and is an economic engine for our national, state and local economies. The threatened 40% budget cut and attempts to reduce the workforce will cripple the agency and erode the knowledge, skills and experience needed to manage our nation’s fisheries.
The U.S. system ranks among the most successful in the world at preventing overfishing and rebuilding overfished stocks. Our precautionary management system must take into account changes in the ocean environment, including warming and acidification, that are altering ecosystems, changing stock productivities, and causing widespread shifts in the distribution of many exploited species. We must continue to research changing ocean conditions and shifting species distributions and population dynamics in the face of these changes. We must also continue to support healthy habitats and associated ecosystems. Failure to do so will put future fish stocks at risk, threaten the livelihoods of the next generation of fishermen and women, and put our coastal economies at great risk. AFS supports robust funding for NOAA Fisheries and we recommend the following funding levels for a number of programs within the service.
Fisheries Science and Management
Conducting stock assessments, development of annual catch limits, monitoring fisheries abundance and catch are all essential components of sustainable fisheries. Management is data driven. Federal fisheries-independent surveys deployed throughout the year across territorial waters, biological sampling, and environmental monitoring provide the data necessary to assess population trends and establish sustainable fishing quotas. A lack of funding to maintain NOAA vessels, sampling gear, and staff has caused survey cancellations and a loss of coverage in recent years. Missing data means that old data must be used to inform new catch limits. This does not serve the best interests of industry and instead works against them. To maximize quotas, current and comprehensive data collection must occur. Further, population models built by stock assessors provide the science on which independent Fisheries Councils rely to make management decisions for their stakeholders. Federal worker capacity and funding for stock assessment have been stretched too thin for decades, meaning core functions at NMFS cannot occur or have been severely hampered. Deadlines to open fisheries have been missed, opportunities for industry input have been cancelled, and models have not been updated with new knowledge because the Divisions involved in stock assessment and monitoring are staff and funding deficient. Sufficient funding for fisheries science and management are essential to sustainable fisheries management.
AFS recommends no less than FY26 funding levels for Fisheries Science and Management.
Habitat Conservation and Restoration
Healthy and sustainable fisheries require healthy habitats and associated ecosystems. Yet, some of our most productive estuaries and coasts are compromised by threats such as contamination, habitat loss and alteration including loss of aquatic connectivity, and invasive species. The Habitat Conservation and Restoration program provides non-regulatory, on-the-ground restoration projects that are vitally important for the survival and recovery of fish and wildlife. AFS supports $60 million in FY27 for Habitat Conservation and Restoration.
Aquaculture
AFS supports responsible and sustainable development of open ocean aquaculture in U.S. federal waters as a mechanism to reduce pressure on wild capture fisheries and as a climate-friendly form of protein production to meet the projected increases in demand for protein world-wide.
The Aquaculture Program coordinates across agencies towards a comprehensive regulatory foundation for open ocean aquaculture. We support the important siting analysis for future Aquaculture Opportunity Areas (AOAs) in federal waters, interagency coordination on National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) review and Environmental Impact Statements (EIS), development of science-based tools and modeling, and associated economic development programs to support expansion of aquaculture into the Exclusive Economic Zone. AFS supports $20 million for the Office of Aquaculture for Fiscal Year 2027. In addition, AFS supports $5 million for the Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Marketing (CIFARM) in FY27. Finally, AFS fully supports the work of the National Centers for Coastal and Ocean Science for its role in the development of the AOAs and the coastal planning tools it offers to assist managers, planners, and industry with sustainable aquaculture development and request sufficient funding for this work to continue.
National Sea Grant College Program and Sea Grant Aquaculture Program
The Sea Grant program is a federally funded network of 34 state- or territory-based programs that fund research and perform education and outreach work on coastal environmental and natural resource issues. Individual Sea Grant programs set research priorities based on local needs, often focusing on actionable science.
AFS supports this program due to its importance in addressing aquatic invasive species, aquaculture, and fisheries. The Sea Grant program has proven to be a cost-effective vehicle for leveraging local expertise and federal funds to address both theoretical and applied research in service of the public good.
AFS supports level funding of $80,000,000 for the National Sea Grant program and $18,000,000, for Sea Grant Aquaculture program, an increase to support developing sustainable marine aquaculture. We believe this program makes critical progress in advancing open ocean aquaculture in the U.S.
The Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund provides funding to the states and tribes of the Pacific Coast region to implement projects that restore and protect salmon and steelhead populations and their habitats. AFS categorically rejects the elimination of funding for the program and supports $65 million in funding in FY27. Funding from PCSRF has improved the status of sensitive salmon and steelhead populations that are vital to local economies, and to communities of recreational and commercial fishermen. Projects include work such as restoring instream flows, enhancing instream and off channel habitat, and removing fish passage barriers.
Thank you for your consideration of this request.
Sincerely,
Jeff Kopaska
Executive Director
