Senate committees will question nominees to NOAA and the Tennessee Valley Authority this week as the administration looks to reform operations there.
As assistant secretary of Commerce for oceans and atmosphere, Timothy Petty would oversee NOAA Fisheries, whose role in regulating commercial and recreational fisheries has become a major policy focus for the administration.
In April, President Donald Trump issued an executive order calling for the Commerce Department to restore America’s seafood competitiveness, including by rolling back environmental restrictions on commercial fishing fleets and stepping up enforcement of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing that has harmed the U.S. seafood industry.
Petty has no prior experience in fisheries. He holds a doctorate in engineering from the University of Alaska Fairbanks and worked as a geologist and hydrologist before becoming a congressional staffer in 1999.
