The Trump administration has twice this month barred senior NOAA officials from participating in major international conferences where fishermen and seafood industry representatives directly interact with regulators and scientists.
At least two top NOAA Fisheries officials — acting Administrator Emily Menashes and Alexa Cole, director of the Office of International Affairs, Trade and Commerce — were removed from panels at this week’s 2025 Seafood Expo North America Conference in Boston, conference organizers and a NOAA press official said.
Danielle Blacklock, director of NOAA’s Office of Aquaculture, was also scheduled to speak but was removed from the program. She had also been removed from the schedule at the National Aquaculture Association annual meeting in New Orleans earlier this month.
NOAA spokesperson Rachel Hager did not provide an explanation for why the agency withdrew officials from the Boston conference, citing policy against “discussing internal personnel and management matters.”
