NOAA’s Marine Operations Center in Newport harbors two research ships which help the Pacific fleet protect marine life, manage commercial fisheries, study climate change, and make nautical charts for safe navigation.
But a proposed federal budget plan being weighed by the Trump Administration would make deep cuts to NOAA’s research capacity.
“It’s good for Newport to have organizations like NOAA here,” John Fuller, a spokesman for the City of Newport, told KLCC.
“We have the largest commercial fishing port in the state of Oregon over here in Newport, there’s a lot of marine research that happens over here as well with the Oregon Coast aquarium, Hatfield Marine Science Center, so there’s a lot of really important work that’s happening here on the coast,” he said.
An estimated 100 people work at NOAA’s Newport facility, though in recent weeks there have been eliminations through the Department of Government Efficiency team. The exact numbers of cut staff remain unknown because many of the federal workers fear repercussions for discussing the reductions.
Fuller says the NOAA facility is a major contributor to the local economy, whether it’s commercial fishing or even a recurring event like Whale Watching Week.
“When I talk about direct and indirect impacts, you’re also talking about the work that goes into things that we sometimes take for granted as tourist attractions,” said Fuller. “But when those whale pods are coming through here, that’s important research that’s also happening at that same time.”
Since taking office for his second term, President Donald Trump has tasked his advisor, billionaire Elon Musk and his DOGE staffers, with eliminating what they deem federal waste. Thousands of federal workers have been fired from their jobs in the last two months.
In a statement to KLCC, Democratic U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon called the Trump administration’s proposed cuts “foolish and feckless” and said he would vigorously fight them.
“These unconstitutional and anti-science cuts would slam the Newport economy and echo throughout Oregon by devastating forecasting capabilities for wildfires, severe storms and floods along with undercutting support for OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center,” said Wyden. He added that the cuts would also burden the National Weather Service, which provides fishing crews up and down the Oregon Coast with important information.
Currently, Congress needs to approve the 2026 budget proposal. Fuller says cuts to any town like Newport can be “pretty detrimental” adding that with roughly 11,000 people, the fishing industry itself contributes about 3,300 jobs locally.
“So we want to make sure and preserve as many of the people in those roles and jobs as we possibly can,” he said.
Copyright 2025, KLCC.
