Opposing view: Myers brings assets that NOAA needs

One side of NOAA is atmosphere, the other is oceans. As former CEO of AccuWeather, Barry Myers knows atmosphere. Upon his nomination, he reached out to us at Saving Seafood and participated in eight regional calls with domestic fishing leaders. No previous nominee in memory has reached out to learn the concerns of the fishing industry before their confirmation hearing.

Recently, the Center for American Progress blog, “Think Progress,” raised concerns about his family business and the company’s settlement of a sexual harassment suit. But progressives were silent about family business ties when President Barack Obama nominated Penny Pritzker — whose family holdings include Hyatt Hotels — to be Commerce secretary. And they seemed less than interested in concerns unions had raised about Hyatt’s labor practices.

Our members view Myers’ experience at a family-based business as an asset. Many American seafood companies are multigenerational, family businesses, and his understanding of them is unique.

His commitment to science has been unwavering. Asked about climate, Myers said: “If the ice is melting, the ice is melting, and one’s opinion about it is really not relevant, it’s a fact . ... Science should take us wherever it takes us, and we can’t dispute the facts once they’re in front of us, and we need to act upon them.”

Myers has managerial skills that NOAA needs. NOAA already has topnotch scientists on staff, but it has been plagued by mismanagement.

It was managerial failure, not scientific lapses, that: created a law enforcement program found to have “overstepped the bounds of propriety and fairness,” resulting in a 2011 Cabinetlevel apology to fishermen and a return of $649,527 in fines; allowed the destruction of more than 100 files while abuses were under investigation; and built research vessels too large to survey near-shore fish populations.

NOAA needs a strong manager. Barry Myers can do the job.