What is the distinction between the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) and the Northwest Regional Office of NMFS?
Each of the five regions within the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has two parts, a science center that conducts research and a regional office that deals with policy and management issues. The scientists at the NWFSC are not policy makers. Their mission is to provide the independent scientific advice necessary to meet NOAA’s stewardship role of conserving and managing living marine resources and their habitats. Center scientists frequently provide independent, biological assessments of the validity of “take permits” requested under the ESA. However, they do not grant or deny such permits. Their scientific conclusions are simply forwarded to the NMFS Regional Office where all permit and policy decisions are made. Similarly, researchers at the Center conduct species’ status reviews, but it is the Regional Office that makes all final listing decisions. With respect to recovery planning, Center researchers, working with the TRTs, will provide the scientific basis on which Recove
