CONTACT: Gordon Helm               FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                   6/6/97

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration today named a list of panelists to assist NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service in the collection and evaluation of information as the fisheries service proposes improvements to the Atlantic Billfish Fishery Management Plan.

The advisory panel was formed to meet requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Panel members will assist the fisheries service by providing information and identifying options to be considered when drafting fishery management plan amendments. The fisheries service will consult with the advisory panel throughout the amendment process.

The billfish panel members represent a balance of recreational and commercial fishing interests and related industries, environmentalists, academics, and government agencies. Meetings are expected to be held three to five times this year. The first meeting of the billfish advisory panel will be held in Silver Spring, MD on July 22 and 23.

Nominations to fill the billfish advisory panel were requested from the public by March 28, 1997 through a published notice in the Federal Register.

     Voting members:

Carl Safina                            Nelson Beideman            
National Audubon Society               Blue Water Fishermen's Association
Islip, New York                        Barnegat Light, New Jersey

Rom Whitaker                           Bob Hayes
Hatteras Harbor Charter Boat Assn.     Coastal Conservation Assn.
Hatteras, North Carolina               Washington, DC


Ellen Peel               Bob Zales                Linda Lucas    
The Billfish Foundation  Panama City, Florida     Eckerd College
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida                           St. Petersburg, Florida

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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