Parnell makes Pacific Salmon Commission picks

This just in from the governor's office:

Sean Parnell
Governor

Sept. 22, 2009

Gov. Parnell Selects Alaskans for Salmon Treaty Boards

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Gov. Sean Parnell today nominated Alaskans for service on the Pacific Salmon Commission and its panels relating to management of salmon fisheries in Southeast Alaska and Canadian waters.

The Pacific Salmon Commission was established by the 1985 Pacific Salmon Treaty between the United States and Canada to coordinate management of Pacific salmon stocks off their coasts. Members of the commission and its panels include representatives of government and fishing interests.

Pacific Salmon Commission

Gov. Parnell nominated David Bedford to continue serving as Alaska’s commissioner in the U.S. Section of the Pacific Salmon Commission, and James Bacon to continue serving as Alaska’s alternate commissioner in that section. The nominations are subject to final approval and appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

With the technical advice and assistance of regional panels, commissioners negotiate and implement revisions to the Pacific Salmon Treaty, resolve disputes and oversee the commission’s activities.

Bedford, of Juneau, is deputy commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He also represents the department at the Alaska Board of Fisheries and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. He has been a Southeast Alaska commercial fisherman and executive director of the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association. Bedford earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Washington, and a law degree from the Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Ore.

Bacon, of Ketchikan, has been a commercial fisherman since 1975, and works as an able-bodied seaman with the Alaska Marine Highway System. He is a member and past president of United Fishermen of Alaska and the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association, a member of the United Southeast Alaska Gillnetter’s Association and a member of the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association’s board of directors.

Pacific Salmon Commission, Northern Panel

Gov. Parnell nominated William F. Auger, Mitchell L. Eide, Arnold M. Enge, Dennis E. Longstreth, Howard T. Pendell and Robert M. Thorstensen Jr. to continue their service on the Pacific Salmon Commission’s Northern Panel, as public members with experience in salmon fisheries. These nominations are subject to final approval and appointment by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

The Northern Panel provides technical and regulatory advice to the Pacific Salmon Commission relating to management of salmon stocks originating in rivers lying between Cape Suckling and Cape Caution.

Auger, of Ketchikan, is co-owner of Bronze Maiden Seafoods LLC. He is president of the United Southeast Alaska Gillnetter’s Association, and is involved with the Ketchikan Fish and Game Advisory Committee and the Southeast Sustainable Salmon Fund. Auger has served on the panel since 1989.

Eide, of Petersburg, is a commercial fisherman and lifelong Petersburg resident. A vessel owner and operator, he fishes for salmon, herring, halibut, black cod and crab. He serves on the boards of directors of the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association and the Northern Southeast Alaska Regional Aquaculture Association. Eide has served on the panel since 2006.

Enge, of Petersburg, is a commercial fisherman who has been owner and operator of a drift gillnetting vessel since 1974. He is a member of the board and former president of the United Southeast Alaska Gillnetter’s Association, has served on the Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee since 1985 and was the committee chairman for eight years. Enge has served on the Northern Panel since 1989 and the Transboundary Panel since 2001.

Longstreth, of Sitka, has been involved in the salmon trolling fishery since 1973. He has been a member of the Alaska Trollers Association, and been involved with the Port Alexander and Sitka fish and game advisory committees. He has previously served on the Port Alexander City Council and the Northern Southeast Local Emergency Planning Committee. Longstreth has served on the panel since 2000.

Pendell, of Sitka, has been a commercial salmon troller and longliner since 1974. He is a founding member of the Sumner Straits Fish and Game Advisory Committee and a past member of the Alaska Trollers Association, and was involved the Southeast Sustainable Salmon Fund. Pendell has served on the panel since 2001.

Thorstensen, of Juneau, is executive director of the Southeast Alaska Seiners Association. He has been active in United Fishermen of Alaska, the Southeast Sustainable Salmon Fund and the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Hatchery board of directors. He has been an adviser to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, a member of the Pacific Salmon Treaty Coalition, and a consultant for Armstrong-Keta’s Port Armstrong Hatchery and the Sitka Herring Group. He has served on the panel since 1996.

Pacific Salmon Commission, Transboundary Panel

Gov. Parnell reappointed John H. Clark, Ph.D., to the Pacific Salmon Commission’s Transboundary Panel.

The Transboundary Panel provides technical and regulatory advice to the Pacific Salmon Commission relating to management of salmon stocks originating in the Alsek, Taku and Stikine rivers, for both in-river and terminal area fisheries.

Clark has worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game since 1975 in positions including fishery biologist, fisheries scientist, Interior Alaska regional supervisor and Pacific Salmon Treaty specialist. He is author of numerous technical fisheries publications, and has won numerous professional honors, including a Meritorious Service Award from the American Fisheries Society’s Alaska chapter, the Governor's Recognition Award for negotiation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty and a Conservation and Management Service Award from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Clark earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Carroll College in Montana, and master’s and doctoral degrees in fisheries biology from Colorado State University. Clark will continue on the Transboundary Panel as a member with salmon fishery management responsibility and expertise.