Fishermen in New England are calling on the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) to rethink federal regulations that they say pose an “existential threat” to their communities, according to a letter shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation.
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) sent the letter to DOGE Wednesday outlining the “unnecessary bloat” of federal regulations that are “destroying the fishing industry.” The group urged DOGE to begin the process of deregulating the industry by reallocating National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries’ funds currently used to “destroy” the industry by placing regulations that have benefitted “foreign competitors” to instead go to “supporting and marketing” the fishing industry.
“Fishing is one of the most dangerous and challenging trades in existence, but it is an invaluable source of food and commerce,” the letter reads. “Overregulation by climate-focused, ideological bureaucrats is destroying the fishing industry, making it nearly impossible for working-class fishermen to make a living.”
The letter follows an April 9 executive order signed by President Donald Trump to “revitalize U.S. maritime industries” and “review ways to improve competition within the private sector.” The president said in the order that the industry had been “weakened by decades of government neglect” and vowed to prioritize its restoration.
Founded in 2023, NEFSA represents hundreds of members with the shared goal of “fighting to save the American commercial fishing heritage and to preserve the opportunity for future generations to work in the fisheries providing fresh, wild-caught, protein-rich, sustainable seafood to the nation.” according to its website.
In its letter, the group specifically called on DOGE to “investigate” and “reallocate NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] funding to support the fishing industry” through subsidies for ship modernization as well as advertising fish consumption, which the group says “aligns” with the administration’s “Make America Healthy Again” movement.