Jane Lubchenco, the marine biologist confirmed by the U.S. Senate to take control of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, helped write a political and policy agenda for the nation based on assumptions of an alarming — and widely disputed — scientific paper.
According to the Gloucester Times, Dr. Lubchenco was part of a working group of "high-profile political and scientific figures" who "helped write a political and policy agenda for the nation based on assumptions of an alarming — and widely disputed — scientific paper." The paper was published in Nature in 2003 by R.A. Myers and B. Worm, and "predicted a collapse of biodiversity and an apocalyptic end to seafood-producing species by 2048 due to ‘overfishing’."
Steve Murawski, director of scientific programs and chief science advisor to the National Marine Fisheries Service described an update of Myers and Worm’s work as "inaccurate and overly pessimistic."
Paul Rago, chief fisheries biologist with NOAA Fisheries at Woods Hole, described the Myers and Worm study "as very controversial. They were taking some trends and extrapolating beyond what many people were comfortable with."
Ray W. Hilborn, an aquatic and fisheries scientist at the University of Washington wrote that Myers and Worm’s projection is "fallacious and inappropriate to appear in a scientific journal."