Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Announces New Advisory Council
Membership
October 3, 2001
Contact:
Anne Smrcina, 781-545-8026 x204
A TIME
Magazine Hero-of-the-Planet, a vice-president of a major marine research
company, and an owner of one of Boston's largest marine commuter vessel
companies are among the 21 accomplished individuals who will help guide
management of the Gerry E. Studds/Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
located off the Massachusetts coast.
The Commerce
Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
announces membership of the new Sanctuary Advisory Council for the Stellwagen
Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Twelve members represent stakeholder
groups, such as whale watching, commercial fishing, ocean conservation,
research and education, which have an interest in the Sanctuary and
its resources. Three members serve as citizens-at-large from locations
within New England. Representatives from six government agencies with
interests or jurisdictions within the Sanctuary serve as ex-officio
members.
The Stellwagen
Bank National Marine Sanctuary was designated by an Act of Congress
in 1992. Virtually the size of Rhode Island, the site protects an 842-square-mile
stretch of open water and seafloor habitat at the mouth of Massachusetts
Bay between Cape Ann and Cape Cod. It is a major feeding area for the
great whales and exhibits some of the highest diversity of fish species
in the Gulf of Maine. Stellwagen Bank is world-renowned as a whalewatching
destination and historically important as a fishing ground.
Recent
interest in development of marine protected areas in the Gulf of Maine,
continuing problems of vessel interactions with marine mammals, and
upcoming revision of the Sanctuary's management plan are among numerous
reasons why creation of the advisory council is critically important
at this time. Council members will provide advice to Sanctuary Superintendent
Craig MacDonald, report Sanctuary progress and programs to their respective
organizations, and provide a means of disseminating Sanctuary-related
information to the public. Members are appointed for three-year terms
and may compete for re-appointment.
The Gerry
E. Studds/Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is one of 13 such
sites in the nation and the only one in the Northeast. The mission of
the National Marine Sanctuaries is to conserve, protect, and enhance
the biodiversity, ecological integrity, and cultural legacy of these
marine protected areas. For more information about the Sanctuary Advisory
Council or the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, contact Anne
Smrcina at 781-545-8026 ext. 204.
The Sanctuary
Advisory Council members are:
Research
Mason
Weinrich, Exec. Director and Chief Scientist, The Whale Center of New
England, Gloucester, MA
Peter
Auster, Ph.D., Science Director, National Undersea Research Center at
the University of Connecticut, Avery Point, Groton, CT
Conservation
Susan
Farady, MPA Proj. Manager, Ocean Conservancy, Gulf of Maine Office,
S. Portland, ME
Priscilla
M. Brooks, Ph.D., Dir., Marine Resources Proj., Conservation Law Foundation,
Boston
Education
Peter
R. Borrelli, Executive Director, Center for Coastal Studies, Provincetown,
MA
Kevin
C. Chu, Ph.D., Director, Office of Cooperative Programs Coordination,
Sea Education Association, Woods Hole, MA
Marine
Transportation
Frederick
L. Nolan, III, Managing Partner, Boston Harbor Cruises, Boston, MA
Recreation
Barry
J. Gibson, Editor, Salt Water Sportsman Magazine, Boston, MA
Whale
Watching
Alan G.
(Jerry) Hill, President, Yankee Fleet, Gloucester, MA
Fixed
Gear Commercial Fishing
William
A. Adler, Executive Director, Mass. Lobstermen's Association, Scituate,
MA
Mobile
Gear Commercial Fishing
William
H. Amaru, Captain, FV Joanne A. III (dragger), South Orleans, MA
Business/Industry
Jackson
S. Kent, III, Board of Directors, Mass. Marine Trades Association, Milton,
MA
At-Large
Richard
C. Wheeler, Trustee, Cape Cod Museum of Natural History, Brewster, MA
Sally
Yozell, Vice President, Battelle Laboratories (Duxbury Operations),
Duxbury, MA
John Williamson,
Fishing Community Activist, ME
Alternates to
the Council are:
Research
Porter
Hoagland, Ph.D., Public Policy Research Specialist, Marine Policy Center,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA
Judith
Pederson, Ph.D., Manager, Center for Coastal Resources, Massachusetts
Institute of Technology Sea Grant College Program, Cambridge, MA
Conservation
Regina
A. Asmutis-Silvia, Biologist, International Wildlife Coalition, East
Falmouth, MA
Gib Chase,
Wildlife Biologist, Northborough, MA
Education
Michael
S. Connor, Ph.D., V.P., Programs and Exhibits, New England Aquarium,
Boston, MA
J. Michael
Williamson, Director, WhaleNet and Assoc. Professor, Wheelock College,
Boston,
Marine
Transportation
William
C. Eldridge, Owner/Operator, Peabody & Lane Corp./Mediterranean Shipping
Co. Inc., Boston
Recreation
Roger
Jarvis, Owner/Captain, Jazz Sport Fishing, Duxbury, MA
Whale
Watching
David
A. Slocum, Senior Captain, New England Aquarium Whale Watch, Boston,
Fixed
Gear Commercial Fishing
John W.
Pappalardo, Policy Director, Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Assoc.,
N. Chatham, MA
Mobile
Gear Commercial Fishing
Robert
B. MacKinnon, Captain and President, Massachusetts Bay Inshore Commercial
Ground Fishermen's Assoc., Inc., Marshfield, MA
Business/Industry
Peter
Davidoff, Co-Owner, Bossport Docking and Constitution Marina, Boston,
At-Large
Charles
Rasak, Creative Director, Creative Resources Group, Plymouth, MA
Rob Robertson,
Ph.D., Faculty, Department of Resource Economics and Development, University
of New Hampshire, Durham, NH
Donald
R. Hourihan, Scituate Waterways Commission, Scituate, MA
The non-voting
ex-officio members are:
State
Richard
A. Murray, Director, Massachusetts Environmental Police
Thomas
W. Skinner, Director, Office of Coastal Zone Management
Paul J.
Diodati, Director, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
Federal
Paul J.
Howard, Executive Director, New England Fisheries Management Council
Patricia
A. Kurkul, Northeast Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries
Service
Rear Admiral
G.N. Naccara, Commander, First Coast Guard District, U.S. Coast Guard
