UPDATE, Jan. 27:
Since I first posted this item, Scott Veirs pointed out that the
recovery of Atlantic salmon is under the joint jurisdiction of the
National Marine Fisheries Service and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. I was not aware of this, and it could help explain the
president’s statement. Thanks, Scott. See below for
Scott’s comment and my response.
——
President Obama made a joke about salmon in his “State of the Union” speech last night, but his statement didn’t ring true to me, so I did some checking.
Obama used salmon as an example of redundancy in government and the need for reorganization. His point was valid about how a confusing number of agencies are involved in salmon and their habitat, But I’m afraid he’s mistaken about who’s in charge when it comes to these migrating fish. Here’s his statement:
“… Then there’s my favorite example: The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they’re in freshwater, but the Commerce Department handles them when they’re in salt water (laughter). I hear it gets even more complicated once they’re smoked (laughter and applause).“
The truth is the National Marine Fisheries Service is in charge
of most salmon
listed under the Endangered Species Act, no matter where they are.
NMFS, of course, is an agency under the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration, which is under the Department of
Commerce.
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