CONTACT: Gordon Helm FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
6/6/97The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today named a list of panelists to assist NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service in developing a comprehensive management system for pelagic longline fishing vessels that participate in highly migratory species fisheries.
The advisory panel was formed to meet requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Panel members will assist the fisheries service in the design and implementation of a fishery survey, workshops, and consideration of a comprehensive management plan for the fishery. The survey and workshops will seek input from affected fishery participants and identify options to be considered when drafting the feasibility study. The fisheries service will receive recommendations from the advisory panel throughout the process.
The panel selectees represent a balance and mix of commercial and recreational fishing interests and related industries, environmentalists, academics, and government agencies. Meetings of the advisory panel will be held three or four times per year. Consulting with the panel, the fisheries service will develop a plan to conduct the workshops and survey. The first meeting of the longline advisory panel will be held in Silver Spring, MD on July 9 and 10.
Nominations to fill the advisory panel were requested from the public by March 28, 1997 through a published notice in the Federal Register.
Voting members:
Putnam Maclean Emmerson Hasbrouck Eagle Eye Fishing Co. Cornell Cooperative Extension Service Marshfield, Massachusetts Riverhead, New York Carl Safina Nelson Beideman National Audubon Society Blue Water Fishermen's Association Islip, New York Barnegat Light, New Jersey Ellen Peel Robert Spaeth The Billfish Foundation Southern Offshore Fishing Association Fort Lauderdale, Florida Madeira Beach, Florida Steve Loga Tuna Fresh, Inc. Dulac, Louisana
Representative - New England Fishery Management Council
Representative - Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Representative - South Atlantic Fishery Management Council
Representative - Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
Representative - Caribbean Fishery Management Council
Non-voting members:
Representative - Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Representative - Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
One representative from each Atlantic and Gulf Coast state
U.S. Advisory Committee Chair - International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas
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