Rob Martin doesn’t have the typical remote work setup.
“Come on the boat. Just don’t trip on the rope,” he warns visitors.
From his perch aboard the Resolve, his fishing boat that’s docked at Sandwich Marina, Martin, 60, has consulted with environmental police, advised policymakers, and, most meaningfully to him, helped fellow commercial lobstermen set up whale-safe fishing gear.
“I’ll either meet with a guy in person, talk on the phone, send ‘em pictures,” he says, sitting in the captain’s chair. “And it’s good because they get somebody they can talk to who knows what’s going on in their fishery. ”
Eighteen years ago, Martin learned that his lobster gear had unintentionally entangled a humpback whale. It was, for him, a life-changing experience. Since then, he’s made it his mission to prevent entanglements. He began the pivot from full-time lobsterman to full-time equipment specialist for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 2020.
But four months ago, Martin started a new role within the agency, becoming, by technicality, one of hundreds of probationary employees at NOAA. In February, the Trump administration took aim at this group to cut down on federal spending. Probationary employees were fired, then rehired by court order, and last week, fired again.
For Martin, like many NOAA employees, the back-and-forth has been difficult.
“The NOAA [work] is a passion, not just a job. I would joke around, say, ‘If I won the lottery tomorrow, I’d still want to be doing what I’m doing because I know I’m doing something good and I’m passionate about it.’”
Critics of the Trump administration’s cutbacks worry about the lasting effects of losing experts and their expertise, such as losing a rare fisherman like Rob Martin, who’s spent 44 years at sea, and who wants to help the government save endangered whales and also preserve an imperiled fishery. They point to a bigger picture, where marine life, coastal communities, the blue economy, and, really, everyone who relies on a healthy ocean, has a lot to lose.
“Rob Martin is a great example of NOAA seeking to work with industry,” said Janet Coit, the former director of NOAA. “That’s heartbreaking to have him leave the agency.”
As a political appointee, Coit lost her job in January when Trump took office. If anything, she said, NOAA needs more resources — more people — to better understand fisheries, ecosystems, and the ocean at large as climate change disrupts natural systems.
But last week, in a draft budget proposal, the Trump administration recommended slashing NOAA’s 2026 budget by more than 25% from its current level and eliminating the entire scientific research division.
“That translates into uncertainty for the [fishing] industry because they depend on a regular process and predictability in order to make their investments and make their plans for the year,” Coit said.
One of those industries is the Massachusetts lobster fishery. Beth Casoni, executive director of the association that represents them, hasn’t been happy with every government regulation. But, she said, that doesn’t mean mass layoffs at NOAA are a good idea.
“That’s not a good look when you’re letting qualified scientists go that know the resource and know the industry,” she said.
The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association has at times pushed back against fishery closures and expensive gear changes. Despite that, Casoni said, if critical jobs are cut from NOAA it could make it even harder for lobster fishers to earn a living.
“It goes back to the surveys, the stock assessments, the ability to monitor the resources without the qualified employees to do it,” she said. “The last thing that any fishery wants is to have the lack of science be used against them, the lack of data because, remember, without data they can’t fish to the level that they should be fishing.”
Back on the Resolve in Sandwich Marina, Rob Martin organizes his lobster gear to start fishing again in May. He’s also trying to work through his frustrations with getting laid off by the Trump administration, and how it’s damaged his mission to bridge the gap between the government and his fishing community, which is usually wary of the government.
“It’s ridiculous,” he says. “To me, if I’m busting my ass to do something, to make a difference in doing this, aren’t you looking at my record?”
Mostly, though, Martin is worried. What will happen to his fellow fisherman and the whales?
“We got a lot of whales in [Cape Cod] Bay right now showing up. [If] something shows up with rope on it…,” he trails off. “That’s the sad part.”
But his hands are tied. All he can do is hope for a successful lobster season. That’s as long as, he says, tariffs and a possible recession triggered by the Trump administration’s policies don’t tank the economy.
“Time,” Martin says, “is ticking.”
This story was originally published by CAI. It was shared as part of the New England News Collaborative.
