NOAA Fisheries Director Penny Dalton announced today that Patricia Kurkul has been selected as the agency's Northeast regional administrator. The Northeast regional office is based in Gloucester, Mass.

"Pat's promotion is well deserved," said Penny Dalton. "Her roots are in New England, she's a graduate of two universities there, and her wide breadth of fishery management expertise is focused on the region."

Ms. Kurkul has been the agency's representative on the region's fishery management councils since Dr. Andrew Rosenberg was appointed deputy director in July 1998. Previously, Ms. Kurkul was chief of the region's Sustainable Fisheries Office, where she directed the process of developing and implementing fishery management laws and programs.

Kurkul's appointment takes effect on June 6,1999.

"I am looking forward to working with the councils, fishing communities and environmental organizations on the challenges we face in this region in the area of marine resource use and protection," said Kurkul.

Fisheries Service science and policy staff in the Northeast are very strong," said Rosenberg. "Pat is the right person to lead them. She knows the issues and the people, and is a very creative problem solver."

Kurkul, a resident of Ipswich, Mass., earned her B.A. in resource economics from the University of Massachusetts and an M.S. in resource economics from the University of Rhode Island. In 1980, Kurkul joined NOAA Fisheries as an industry economist where she began her career in fisheries management, and has become an expert on fishery management laws and authorities over her past 18 years of service with the agency.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is an agency of the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, dedicated to protecting and preserving the nation's ocean wildlife through scientific research, fisheries management, habitat conservation, and enforcement of federal wildlife law.