Saving Seafood

Eugenio Piñeiro Soler Appointed to Lead NOAA Fisheries

April 14, 2025 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, with concurrence from the White House, named Eugenio Piñeiro Soler as Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. Mr. Piñeiro Soler has assumed his new position, taking the helm from Acting Assistant Administrator Emily Menashes, who will return to her previous position as Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations.

As Assistant Administrator, Mr. Piñeiro Soler will oversee the federal agency responsible for managing our nation’s marine fisheries and conserving protected marine species.

Mr. Piñeiro Soler has enjoyed a long and illustrious life in fisheries management. In a career that has spanned over 30 years, he has been a successful commercial fisherman, fisheries captain, and entrepreneur in his home island of Puerto Rico and throughout the Caribbean.

Mr. Piñeiro Soler has been part of multiple oceanic conservation and administrative organizations. These include the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, for which he served as Chair from 2001 to 2010, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the International Whaling Commission, and the Marine Protected Area Federal Advisory Committee. In the first Trump Administration, Mr. Piñeiro Soler served as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. He brings a wealth of experience to this new role.

He received his bachelor’s degree in Philosophy from Radford University, followed by his Juris Doctor from the Catholic University Law School of Puerto Rico. He has also conducted research on deepwater snappers with scientists from Texas A&M University and discovered Odontanthias hensleyi, a new species of jewelfish, while conducting research with the NOAA Fisheries Competitive Research Program.

Eugenio Piñeiro Soler brings extensive managerial and leadership experience to NOAA Fisheries, having worked at the intersection of policy and science throughout his career. Mr. Piñeiro Soler’s passion for these issues is evident and he will work with NOAA Fisheries’ various partners, industries, and constituencies to promote the economic benefits of U.S. fisheries and ensure smart management of our nation’s fisheries and trust resources.

US confirms Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary amid uncertainty over NOAA’s future

February 20, 2025 — The U.S. Senate voted to confirm Howard Lutnick as the secretary of the Department of Commerce despite fears that the Trump administration plans to cut NOAA funding or dismantle the agency altogether.

U.S. President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Commerce, which oversees such agencies as NOAA, was confirmed on a 51-45 vote, with no Democrat senators supporting his nomination.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Senate confirms Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary, a key role for Trump’s trade agenda

February 18, 2025 — As Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick will oversee NOAA, which includes the National Marine Fisheries Service. The following excerpt is from an article by the Associated Press:

The Senate confirmed wealthy financier Howard Lutnick as commerce secretary Tuesday, putting in place a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump’s hardline trade polices.

At the Commerce Department, Lutnick, who was CEO at the investment firm Cantor Fitzgerald, will oversee 50,000 employees who do everything from collecting economic statistics to running the census to issuing weather reports. But he’s likely to spend a lot of time — along with Jamieson Greer, Trump’s nominee to be the top U.S. trade negotiator — managing the president’s aggressive plans to impose import taxes on U.S. trading partners, including allies and adversaries alike.

The Senate vote to confirm Lutnick was 51-45.

Trump views the tariffs as a versatile economic tool. They can raise money to finance his tax cuts elsewhere, protect U.S. industries and pressure other countries into making concessions on such issues as their own trade barriers, immigration and drug trafficking. Mainstream economists mostly view tariffs as counterproductive: They are paid by import companies in the United States, which try to pass along the higher costs to consumers and can thereby add to inflationary pressures throughout the economy.

Read the full article at the Associated Press