As Oceana CEO Andrew Sharpless wrote on Gristmill a few weeks ago (before Penny Pritzker withdrew herself from consideration of the Commerce post), Secretary of Commerce is indeed an important position for the environment - specifically the oceans.

Sixty percent of Commerce's budget and one-third of its staff goes toward running NOAA, which oversees all fisheries. Overfishing and the establishment of the United States' first offshore fish farming facilities will continue to be major issues in the coming years.

Whoever ends up in this job will find themselves learning a lot about fish.

Oceana: Protecting the world's oceans.