John Dunnigan was named Assistant Administrator of the NOA in January 2006. He earned an undergraduate degree in communications from Cal State Fullerton, and J.D and L.L.M. degrees in law from the University of Washington. Dunnigan began his career with the NOAA as a Congressional affairs intern in 1972. From 1984 through 1991 he served in a variety of NOAA positions including Congressional and constituent affairs and to promote the productivity and competitiveness of the U.S. fishing industry. His early career included a stint at the Office of General Counsel, as staff attorney and regional counsel in Gloucester, MA, St. Petersburg, FL and Seattle, WA. He also served as deputy executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council from 1981 to 1983, and was a self-employed business consultant for a year before returning to NOAA in 1984.
Between 1991 and 2002, Dunnigan served as the executive director of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate organization responsible for cooperative planning for fisheries conservation, management, scientific research, habitat and sport fish restoration and law enforcement. Under his stewardship, the ASMFC and its state members forged a partnership for conserving and managing coastal fisheries, including the enactment and implementation of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act.
Beginning in 2002, Dunnigan served as director of the NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries, leading efforts to promote fishery conservation and management programs aimed at achieving the optimum sustainable annual yield from U.S. fisheries. During this time, Dunnigan was also named as director of the NOAA Ecosystem Goal Team, one of the four mission goals in the agency.
