(Reuters) - President Donald Trump's regulatory freeze has injected chaos and uncertainty into a number of lucrative American fisheries, raising the risk of a delayed start to the fishing season for some East Coast cod and haddock fleets and leading to overfishing of Atlantic bluefin tuna, according to Reuters interviews with industry groups and federal government employees. 

America's $320 billion fishing industry relies on a branch of the federal government, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to manage coastal fisheries. Under a 1976 law, NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service develops management plans for 45 fisheries, setting quotas and determining the start and close of fishing seasons, in consultation with federal government scientists and local fishermen.

Trump's January 20 declaration of a 60-day freeze on regulations disrupted this process for several of those fisheries, delaying key meetings and causing confusion over the issuance of new rules, according to Reuters interviews.

The freeze allowed overfishing in waters off North Carolina of Atlantic bluefin tuna which could mean reduced quotas for New York and New England fishermen when the fish migrate further north this summer, according to a Massachusetts lawmaker as well as industry groups and the federal government employees.

"There's just a lot of confusion right now, both internal and external," said Ben Martens, executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, an industry group. "I'm getting calls from fishermen asking what's going to happen."

Some 163 probationary employees - or about 5% of the NOAA workforce dealing with fisheries - were fired last month including administrative support staff, fish biologists and fisheries management specialists, a senior NOAA employee who was among those fired told Reuters. Those roles are involved in the regulatory process, from monitoring the health of stocks to consulting on regulations for annual catch. 

The agency confirmed the freeze in an email, but said that it would not respond to Reuters' requests for comment on management and personnel issues. "NOAA Fisheries is complying with the Presidential Memorandum 'Regulatory Freeze Pending Review,'  NOAA spokesperson Rachel Hager said.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment.

Even if new regulations can be issued once the freeze lifts, delays in openings can have an impact on the industry, especially fishermen who rely on migratory fish or operate smaller vessels.

'MAKE OR BREAK'

"It can make or break a fishery if the window of opportunity to go fishing is narrowed or shifts significantly," said Noah Oppenheim, principal of Homarus Strategies, which advises commercial fishermen and organizations across the country.

Reuters spoke to two industry groups, 13 staff at NOAA, who described impacts from Alaska to the Atlantic because of regulatory delays and job cuts.

Twelve of the NOAA staff were fired and reinstated on March 17 in response to a court order, though they were placed on administrative leave.

The Trump administration has told all federal agencies to submit plans for further staff cuts.

The effects of the regulatory freeze on the fishing season and the scope of job cuts at NOAA's fisheries arm have not been previously reported. 

The impact on the U.S. fishing fleet, which employs 39,000 commercial fishermen, is one example of how suspending federal government regulations and job cuts can impact broad swathes of the U.S. economy. 

Bluefish tuna were overfished in the mid-Atlantic this month because NOAA did not issue the regulation to close the fishery after fishermen filled the quota in mid-January, according to two letters sent to NOAA from Bill Keating, a Democratic representative from Massachusetts.

Keating's initial attempt to reach NOAA's congressional liaison failed because that person had been fired, and his second attempt to warn the interim administrator went unanswered, his office said.

NOAA eventually closed the mid-Atlantic fishery on February 28 after 125% of the catch quota had been taken. But John McMurray, a bluefin fisherman in New York, says he is not sure how much of the prized fish will be available for him to catch when his season gets underway in June. 

"It's hard for me to believe we're not going to get punished up here in New York and New England for that," he said.  

Trump exempted fishing and hunting from a regulatory freeze during his first term, but no such exception has been announced during his current administration. 

The White House has said that reducing regulation will help combat inflation and drive job growth. 

'NO FISHERY, NO WORK'

John Ainsworth, a commercial fisherman who has been fishing squid and other fish off of Rhode Island since 1990, said he fears a chaotic approach to the catch could wipe out fishing stocks.

"The federal managers for the squid fishery are supposed to be slashed and without them, when do we know when the seasons open? When will they decide how much of the quota is caught?" he asked. 

Some New England fisheries are expected to open late because of delays in the regulatory process, according to the New England Fishery Management Council, an advisory group.  

The Northeast's $41 million groundfish fishery, which includes cod, haddock, and flounder, is on track to miss its traditional May 1 opening date unless NOAA or the Secretary of Commerce take emergency action, Martens, from the Maine Coast Fishermen's Association, told Reuters.

A small fraction of New England's $400 million scallop industry also faces only a partial opening on April 1. At this point, publishing new regulations could take until late April, Martens said.

Delayed opening of fisheries means less fishing time for fishermen, less work for crews, and less fish to send to markets, said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association. 

"No fishery means no work," she said.  

Alaska's black cod (or sablefish) and halibut fisheries will open on time on March 20, but only after Republican Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski spoke directly with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, she said on X. NOAA staff worked through the weekend to complete the rule-making process so the season could open, said Behnken, who was involved in the effort.

Preparations for the Pacific coast salmon fishing season are also behind schedule, because of disruptions to the fishery management council meeting, one NOAA employee said.

Rebecca Howard, a fish biologist, was preparing population surveys of shellfish and pollock, cod and groundfish when she was fired from her job at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center on Feb. 27. The data helps to set fish and crab quotas to ensure a sustainable take.

Such stock assessments are essential to fishermen like Christopher Willi. Fishermen are not able to regulate on their own, he said.

"You need the federal government to do it," said Willi, a charter fishing guide and restaurant owner on Block Island, off the coast of Rhode Island. "If these quotas aren't maintained and regulated and monitored with stock assessments by NOAA, it's going to become a free-for-all and you're gonna find existing stocks depleted."  

(Reporting by Valerie Volcovici and Leah Douglas in Washingon and Gloria Dickie in London; Editing by Suzanne Goldenberg)