NOAA National 

Enforcement Summit 

March 2010 – August 2010 

Location: Washington, D.C. 

Background 

The enforcement mandate of the National Oceanic and 

Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to promote 

compliance and deter violations within the commercial 

fishing industry. In January 2010, the U.S. Department of 

Commerce’s Inspector General issued a report detailing 

issues that adversely affected NOAA’s ability to effectively 

carry out its regulatory mission. The report pointed out that 

it is a common fishing industry perception that 

NOAA’s enforcement policies and regulations are too 

complex and unevenly enforced across the industry. 

The report called for actions to remedy the tenuous 

relationships with the fishing industry in the Northeast 

Region and to avoid potential problems in other regions. 

NOAA officials developed a plan for addressing these 

enforcement issues including development of annual 

enforcement priorities, utilizing stakeholder input, 

increasing compliance, and emphasizing partnerships with 

State and Federal agencies. 

On August 3, 2010, NOAA convened the National 

Enforcement Summit, a gathering of diverse federal, state 

and industry representatives to share information and 

provide input to develop a fair enforcement program that 

achieves results. The U.S. Institute for Environmental 

Conflict Resolution assisted NOAA in planning for the 

summit and in selecting a neutral facilitator to assess 

stakeholder interests and develop an agenda for a 

collaborative dialogue. 

Highlights/Innovation 

 NOAA used an innovative approach to the 

policy discussion by directly involving the 

people and industries most affected by these 

policies in the development and implementation 

of the summit plan. Stakeholder representatives 

included the commercial fishing industry, 

recreational fishing/vessel industry, 

environmental NGOs, federal agencies, state 

and tribal enforcement partners, and NOAA 

regional staff. 

 The summit received the full support of NOAA 

leadership through the attendance at the summit 

of Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of 

Commerce and NOAA Administrator; Lois 

Schiffer, NOAA General Counsel; Eric Schwaab, 

Director of the National Marine Fisheries 

Service; and Alan Risenhover, Acting Director of 

the Office of Law Enforcement. 

When asked about the benefits of the summit, one 

participant stated that it was: 

“...a very rare opportunity to have such a diverse 

group in the same room.” 

Results and Accomplishments 

At the end of the day-long summit, NOAA Administrator 

Dr. Jane Lubchenco summarized some key themes that 

could be addressed moving forward: 

 Improve enforceability of regulations 

 Increase regular and routine contact between NOAA 

Office of Law Enforcement and regulated 

communities 

 Increase efficiency for administration of violations 

 Inform public of NOAA enforcement actions and 

priorities 

NOAA discussed its process for setting enforcement 

priorities and its plan to use the input from the Enforcement 

Summit. 

Credits 

Susan Podziba, Public Policy Mediator at Susan 

Podziba & Associates 

U.S. Institute: 

Suzanne Orenstein, Director 

Washington D.C. Office 

orenstein@ecr.gov 

(202) 540-1040 

Brian Manwaring, Program Manager 

Water Resources Program 

manwaring@ecr.gov 

(520) 901 8529 

website: www.ecr.gov