March 23, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has requested a USD 1.1 billion (EUR 1 billion) budget for operations, research, and facilities in 2025, a slight decrease from the USD 1.3 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) Congress allotted the agency for fiscal 2023 and roughly equivalent to the fiscal 2024 funding congressional leadership agreed to earlier in March.
One of NOAA Fisheries’ budget priorities is growing funding for Mitchell Act hatcheries in the Columbia River Basin. The agency is seeking an increase of USD 10 million (EUR 9.2 million), bringing total 2025 funding to USD 75 million (EUR 69 million). According to the budget request, the additional funding is “part of the [Biden] administration’s commitment to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant wild salmon, steelhead, and other native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin, and honor the United States’ obligations to tribal nations.”