Surprise appointments to the North Pacific Council

The secretary of commerce today appointed Forrest Bowers to an Alaska seat and Chad See to a Washington seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Both are surprises as neither was the top choice of their respective governors.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy had nominated Märit Carlson-Van Dort as his lead pick, with Bowers and Israel Payton as his second and third choices. Carlson-Van Dort chairs the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Bowers is a longtime state employee in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, currently working as acting commercial fisheries director.

Washington Gov. Bob Ferguson nominated crab fleet representative Jamie Goen for a second term on the council, but the commerce secretary instead appointed Chad See, Ferguson's second choice. See is executive director of the Freezer Longline Coalition.

Juneau watch

The House Special Committee on Fisheries tomorrow will consider the governor's appointees to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The appointees include newcomers Paul Cyr and Blair Hickson.

Mike Wood is up for reappointment to the board.

The committee hearing is set to begin at 10 a.m.

Three in line for seats on Board of Fisheries

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has picked three individuals for service on the Board of Fisheries. Here are letters the governor sent to each.

Josh Hayes

Blair Hickson

Mike Wood

Wood already holds a seat on the board, so this would be a reappointment in his case.

The other two are newcomers, and Deckboss doesn't know much about them. They would replace two board members who are not seeking reappointment — Greg Svendsen and Gerad Godfrey.

So far, the governor's picks haven't generated much talk, at least not publicly. They're subject to legislative confirmation, but we're not aware of any confirmation hearings thus far.

Could it be this slate of names is meeting some quiet resistance?

New ASMI board members

The governor recently made two appointments to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors.

• Christine O'Connor fills an open harvester seat on the board. She is executive director of the Alaska Telecom Association, ASMI's latest monthly marketing update says. She holds a Bristol Bay salmon setnet permit, the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission database shows.

• Eric Deakin fills a seat designated for a large processor. He is CEO of Coastal Villages Region Fund, one of Alaska's six community development quota organizations.

With these appointments, all seven seats on the ASMI board are now filled.

Three appointed to North Pacific Council seats

The commerce secretary has appointed John Moller and Brian Ritchie to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and has reappointed Anne Vanderhoeven to a second term.

Moller and Ritchie were Gov. Mike Dunleavy's top picks for Alaska seats on the council, which has 11 voting members and helps regulate commercial fisheries off Alaska.

The Vanderhoeven reappointment to a Washington seat is notable in that Gov. Jay Inslee had named Becca Robbins Gisclair, of the Ocean Conservancy, as his top choice. The governor did, at least, include Vanderhoeven on his list of recommendations. Vanderhoeven is government affairs director for trawl company Arctic Storm.

Council appointments on standby

The federal government announced appointments to six of the nation's regional fishery management councils, but said appointments to the Pacific and North Pacific councils "will be announced later this summer."

Tsukada, Down secure council seats

The commerce secretary has appointed Ryuichi "Rudy" Tsukada to an Alaska seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and reappointed Kenneth Down to a Washington seat.

Fish board appointments

Gov. Mike Dunleavy today named three people to the Alaska Board of Fisheries: Gerad Godfrey, Greg Svendsen and Mike Wood.

The governor's office provided a little background for each.

These three presumably will replace current members Mike Heimbuch, John Jensen and McKenzie Mitchell, whose terms expire on June 30.

Governor appoints three to Board of Fisheries

Here's the press release.

New faces for fish board

Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed Abe Williams, of Anchorage, and McKenzie Mitchell, of Fairbanks, to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The governor also reappointed John Jensen, of Petersburg.

Gov. Dunleavy appoints four to Board of Fisheries

Here's the press release.

The governor's office also provided these additional notes:

There were four seats open on the Board of Fish, two from expiring terms and two from resignation (Al Cain and Orville Huntington). Israel Payton was reappointed, Gerad Godfrey replaces Robert Ruffner, Karl Johnstone replaces Al Cain, and Marit Carlson-Van Dort replaces Orville Huntington who is now taking a seat on the Board of Game. Johnstone and Carlson-Van Dort take their seats immediately, Godfrey takes his seat July 1, and Payton will continue to serve.

Fields appointed to Board of Fisheries

The governor has appointed Duncan Fields, of Kodiak, to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

Fields has long been involved in fish politics and policy. He formerly served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The governor also has reappointed Orville Huntington, of Huslia, to the board.

Both appointments are subject to legislative confirmation.

Board of Fisheries news

Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has reappointed John Jensen, of Petersburg, and Reed Morisky, of Fairbanks, to the state Board of Fisheries.

The governor also has appointed Fritz Johnson, of Dillingham.

Johnson, who has served previously on the board, will take the seat now held by Sue Jeffrey, of Kodiak, who is stepping aside after serving two terms.

Here's the governor's letter to legislative leaders indicating his appointments to various state boards and commissions.

Fish board appointees are subject to legislative confirmation.

In other news, state Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, has introduced House Bill 88, which would expand the board from seven members to nine. Here's her sponsor statement on the bill.

ASMI board news

Gov. Bill Walker recently made appointments to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors.

• Tom Enlow, CEO of processor UniSea, replaces Peter Pan Seafoods CEO Barry Collier on the board. While Collier reapplied, the governor went with an "Alaska-based" choice in Enlow, a Walker spokeswoman said.

• Richard Riggs, CEO of Silver Bay Seafoods, fills a vacant seat last held by former Icicle Seafoods CEO Amy Humphreys.

• Mark Palmer, CEO of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, is reappointed to the board.

At its meeting Thursday in Juneau, the board elected Jack Schultheis, general manager of Kwik'pak Fisheries, as chairman.

You can see the full ASMI board lineup here.

Gov. Walker names three to Board of Fisheries

Here's the press release.

We have halibut commission news!

Read it here.

Parnell appoints two to ASMI board

Outgoing Gov. Sean Parnell today named two people to the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Here's the official announcement:

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors

Gov. Parnell appointed Tomi Marsh and Allen Kimball to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors.

ASMI is a public-private partnership between the state and the Alaska seafood industry established to increase the economic value of our renewable seafood resources.

Marsh, of Ketchikan, has been commercial fishing since 1981 and has owned and operated the F/V Savage since 1990. She has fished crab in the Bering Sea and Pribilofs, longlined in the Aleutians and Gulf, and currently tenders salmon and the various dive fisheries in Southeast Alaska. Marsh is the co-author of "Fishes and Dishes," a popular seafood cookbook promoting Alaska's seafood. She is the president of OceansAlaska, Ketchikan and serves on ASMI's Shellfish Committee. She is appointed to a harvester seat.

Kimball, of Seattle, is executive vice president of international sales for Trident Seafoods, where he has worked since 1999. Prior to that, he was the operations manager for Arctic Alaska Fisheries Corp. and Tyson Seafoods Group, and a foreign fisheries observer with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Kimball received a bachelor's degree in zoology, with a fisheries management emphasis, from Brigham Young University. He is appointed to a large processor seat.

Three retain seats on fish board

Gov. Sean Parnell has reappointed Sue Jeffrey, John Jensen and Reed Morisky to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

Here's the press release.

Governor names three to ASMI board

Gov. Sean Parnell has reappointed Kevin Adams and Jack Schultheis to the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Parnell also appointed Amy Humphreys. She fills the seat formerly held by Dennis Guhlke, whom Humphreys replaced in February as chief executive of Icicle Seafoods Inc.

Here's the press release from the governor's office.

Standing by

Deckboss expects we'll soon hear from the governor's office on appointments to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors.

The board normally has seven members, with processors holding five seats and fishermen two.

One seat currently is vacant, due to Dennis Guhlke's exit as chief executive of Icicle Seafoods Inc. in February.

The terms for two other ASMI directors expire on June 30. They are Kevin Adams, a commercial fisherman and board chairman, and Jack Schultheis, general manager of Kwik'pak Fisheries LLC.