March 18, 2026 — The head of NOAA Fisheries said the U.S. needs better commercial fishery representatives on regional fishery management councils, but he acknowledged nominations are a political process that limits his control of who takes those seats.
“We need to have better council members and better managers,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Eugenio Piñeiro Soler said. “You need council members who are more involved and knowledgeable of science and economics, the damage that they can do, international issues.”