NOS Assistant Administrator John H. Dunnigan

John H. Dunnigan, NOS Assistant Administrator

John H. Dunnigan is the Assistant Administrator for NOAA’s Ocean Service.  He has broad experience in marine science and policy and in the service of marine resource conservation.

Mr. Dunnigan has been associated with NOAA throughout his career, beginning as a NOAA Congressional Affairs intern in 1972. Since 2002, he has overseen NOAA's efforts promoting fishery conservation and management programs aimed at achieving the optimum sustainable yield from U.S. fisheries on an annual basis. He has played a key role in guiding NOAA policy under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.  While serving as director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries, Dunnigan also served as director of the NOAA Ecosystem Goal Team, one of the four mission goals in the agency. He has led efforts to develop long-term, multi-year policy direction as NOAA works to implement an ecosystem approach to its management of the nation's marine resources.  He joined NOS as the Assistant Administrator in January 2006.

Mr. Dunnigan spent time as the Executive Director of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), 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 created an effective partnership for conserving and managing coastal fisheries, including the enactment and implementation of the Atlantic Coastal Fisheries Cooperative Management Act.  Dunnigan’s early career included a stint at NOAA’s Office of General Counsel, as staff attorney and regional counsel in Gloucester, Massachusetts; St. Petersburg, Florida; and Seattle, Washington. He also served as deputy executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council, and spent a year as a self-employed business consultant.

Mr. Dunnigan received his J.D. and LL.M. degrees in law from the University of Washington, where he focused on environmental and marine law and legislation. He holds an undergraduate degree in communications from California State University, Fullerton.  Dunnigan is an active member of the District of Columbia Bar Association and is a member of the Washington State Bar Association.

Mr. Dunnigan and his wife, Linda, live in Silver Spring, Maryland. They have three children and three grandchildren.