Commerce Department Announces South Atlantic and Pacific Fishery Management Council Appointments

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced the appointment of Richard L. Gray, Jr., to the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the reappointment of David W. Ortmann to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Gray is a recreational fisherman from Beaufort, S.C., and Ortmann is a fisheries biologist from Couer d’Alene, Idaho. These appointments are made in addition to the seventeen other council appointments announced on June 16, 2004.

The councils, established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act prepare fishery management plans for marine fish stocks in their respective geographical areas of responsibility. The management plans are submitted for review by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service and approved by the secretary.

Terms of the council members expire annually on August 10 for approximately one-third of the 72 obligatory and at-large members appointed to the eight regional councils. On behalf of the secretary, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries solicits nominations from the governors of fishing states and oversees the annual appointments process.

The councils represent diverse fisheries interests and are comprised of members whose combined knowledge and experience represent commercial and recreational fisheries as well as environmental, academic, and other interests from each geographical area concerned.

NOAA Fisheries is dedicated to providing and preserving the nation’s living marine resources and their habitat through scientific research, management, and enforcement. NOAA Fisheries provides effective stewardship of these resources for the benefit of the nation, supporting coastal communities that depend upon them, and helping to provide safe and healthy seafood to consumers and recreational opportunities for the American public.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources.

On the Web:

NOAA: http://www.noaa.gov

NOAA’s Fisheries: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov