Oregon State University marine biologist Jane Lubchenco conducts fieldwork north of Depoe Bay in 2003. Sol Neelman/Courtesy of The Oregonian.
President-elect Barack Obama has tapped Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Lubchenco, a conservationist who has devoted much of her career to encouraging scientists to become more engaged in public policy debates, is also a vocal proponent of curbing greenhouse gases linked to global warming. The transition team could not be reached for comment, but several sources confirmed today that Lubchenco had been picked and was headed to Chicago for the upcoming announcement.
The appointment marks a shift for NOAA, which oversees marine issues as well as much of government’s climate work. Lubchenco has criticized the agency in the past for not doing enough to curb overfishing.
Andrew Rosenberg, who served as deputy director of NOAA’s Fisheries Service under Clinton and is now University of New Hampshire professor of natural resources and the environment, praised Lubchenco as an “absolutely world class scientist.”
“When has NOAA been headed by a member of the National Academy and a fellow of the Royal Society?” he said, referring to America and Britain’s most prestigious scientific societies. “That’s exactly the right signal. It establishes NOAA as one of those key scientific agencies.”
By selecting someone who’s both a respected researcher and an active player in national policy discussions, Rosenberg added, “it’s saying that science agencies have a role in policy. They need to be tightly connected, and I believe they will be tightly connected under Jane.”
– By Juliet Eilperin/Courtesy of The Washington Post
NOAA Appointment Surely A Win for All Sailors
Jane Lubchenco
Oregon State University professor Jane Lubchenco, an internationally known marine ecologist who is deeply concerned about climate change and overfishing, has been picked by President Barack Obama to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
A member of Sailors for the Sea’s advisory board, a not-for-profit organization that attempts to protect and restore oceans and coastal waters, Lubchenco would be the first woman to head the prominent science agency, which encompasses about half the work force of the Department of Commerce and has a budget of roughly $4 billion. NOAA’s many divisions conduct the nation’s study of oceans, weather and global warming.
Her selection signals the incoming administration’s focus on aggressive environmental and marine protection.
A former president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and Ecological Society of America, Lubchenco has won many of the top awards in her field, including a MacArthur Fellowship. She is widely respected within the science community and has long spoken strongly of the need to protect marine ecosystems.
Jane Lubchenco: NOAA’s Ark?
New NOAA head will have plenty of work to do
Jane Lubchenco, one of the nation’s most prominent marine biologists, heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
President-elect Barack Obama’s appointment of Jane Lubchenco, an Oregon State University marine biologist, to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration could be a major positive step for protecting America’s fisheries.
In recent years, NOAA has ignored scientists’ advice when it comes to setting quotas for some of our most vulnerable fish species, favoring commercial interests over conservation. With a scientist like Lubchenco in charge, I hope that NOAA will start to take a more scientific tack in its management.
Lubchenco, a well-regarded researcher and professor, will have her hands full. America’s fisheries are among the best-managed in the world, but that’s just because there’s not much competition.
Take the recent ICCAT negotiations in Marrakech, for example, where the body charged with preserving eastern bluefin tuna potentially condemned the species to commercial extinction by setting a quota double scientists’ recommendations.
America’s salmon stocks are still reeling from this year’s mysterious crash. Alaska pollock, often considered an example in good fishery management for the rest of the world, not only wastes salmon as bycatch but also faces sudden declines of its own. Meanwhile, the Chesapeake soft shell and peeler blue crab fisheries are in such poor shape that watermen are now eligible for $20 million in federal bailout money.
But with Lubchenco at the helm, I have renewed hope. Protecting seafood species isn’t complicated. Given a chance, most fish species will rebound to healthy levels, but only if they get relief from unrealistic fishing pressure. A clear-eyed scientist like Lubchenco can steer America’s fisheries to health because she recognizes the stakes. As she told the New York Times’ Andrew Revkin:
“The oceans have long been thought to be so vast and bountiful that they must be impervious to human depredation. The evidence is now overwhelming that even the immense oceans are depleted and disrupted. Turns out that oceans are more vulnerable — and more valuable — than we thought.”
– Andrew Sharpless/Courtesy of Grist: Environmental News and Commentary
