NMFS Northeast Region

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With Salvador's move to Delaware, former commercial fisherman John Higgins has taken over resonsibility for working with industry in the Northeast to reduce entablgement of marine mammals in fishing gear.

In his new post, Salvador will cover the coast from the North Carolina/Virginia border north to Long Island, N.Y. As the federal government’s liaison to commercial fishermen, Salvador is responsible for answering questions about how to comply with regulations to protect marine mammals and sea turtles. He will also work with fishermen to develop and test new gear ideas to reduce the likelihood of entanglement.

In recent years, Salvador has worked with fishermen on a variety of gear ideas including neutrally buoyant line, changes in the way gillnet float lines are rigged, and a variety of weak links. All of the promising ideas are tested at-sea by commercial fishermen.

Salvador has also worked with commercial fishermen to gather data on the load placed on lobster and gillnet gear in different inshore and offshore fisheries. He expects to continue the same types of work in the Mid-Atlantic.

“I’ll be going to sea with commercial fishermen, and I’ll be attending trade shows and going to fishermen’s meetings up and down the coast,” Salvador says. “I’ll be explaining the rules to anyone who wants to hear them, and I’ll be listening to any ideas anyone has about how the rules can be improved.”

Federal regulations to reduce entanglement of marine mammals and sea turtles are required under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and, in some case, the Endangered Species Act. Salvador wants to hear from commercial fishermen who have questions or ideas about the regulations. He can be reached at (302) 644-2375, or via cell phone (302 893-2242), fax (302 644-2486), or e-mail (glenn.salvador@noaa.gov).