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Commerce shuffle results in new NMFS boss
The National Marine Fisheries Service is getting a new chief.
Sam Rauch is taking over for Eric Schwaab, who is moving up to a new post within the Obama administration.
NMFS is an agency within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which is part of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
NMFS is of considerable importance to the oil and gas industry, as it implements policies and regulations for issuance of permits and authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act.
The agency currently is taking public comment on a draft environmental impact statement describing how offshore oil and gas activities in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas could affect marine mammals and Alaska Native communities that depend on them for subsistence. The draft EIS lays out measures such as closing areas to exploration during whale migration and feeding and during traditional whale and seal hunts.
Lawyer in charge Rauch, a lawyer, currently is deputy assistant administrator for regulatory programs at NMFS. His bio indicates he previously supervised a NMFS legal team, and prior to joining the agency he defended NMFS as a trial attorney with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Schwaab has served as NMFS chief since February 2010.
Jane Lubchenco, a Commerce Department under secretary and administrator for NOAA, announced Jan. 5 that Schwaab was her choice to become NOAA’s acting assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management, effective Jan. 17, with Rauch moving up as acting head of NMFS.
The job Schwaab is assuming is not a new position. Rather, it became vacant in November with the departure of Larry Robinson.
“The assistant secretary of commerce for conservation and management drives policy and program direction for NOAA’s stewardship responsibilities, including ocean resource management, coastal management, and protected resources,” said a statement from Lubchenco’s office.
—Wesley Loy
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