Move ocean survey work to the Coast Guard and Geological Survey
What the document says“These functions could be transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Geological Survey to increase efficiency.”
The chapter notes that survey operations have historically accounted for almost half the National Ocean Service budget, and separately asks that the expansion of the National Marine Sanctuaries System be reviewed.
What the document actually says“These functions could be transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Geological Survey to increase efficiency.”
Two other agencies could take on this work.
One office charts the seabed and coasts. That is about half its budget. The book says two other agencies could do it.
Read against the documents indexed here on August 26, 2026, and nothing was found that answers this. That rule authorizes the incidental taking of marine mammals during geophysical surveys run by industry in the Gulf, so it is NOAA regulating other people's surveys rather than moving NOAA's own charting and survey work anywhere. Nothing indexed transfers a National Ocean Service function to the Coast Guard or the Geological Survey, and nothing reviews the National Marine Sanctuaries System. The Coast Guard candidate, rule-2025-04018, only changes the name of the Gulf of Mexico in Coast Guard regulations. That is a record of a search, not a finding that nothing has happened: an act this site does not hold, or one that answers the proposal in words unlike its own, would not be caught by it.