The Council elected Mr. Simon Kinneen as Chair of the Council for the upcoming year, and re-elected Mr. Bill Tweit as Vice-Chair. As Mr. Tweit has been serving as Interim Chair since August, the Council commemorated his service with a mini gavel.
Mr. John Jensen joins the NPFMC as a new council member from Petersburg, Alaska. Mr. Jensen has experience in recreational fishing as well as a career in commercial fishing, and currently sits on the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Board of Fish, and is a member of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission.
Captain Allison J. Caputo is also joining the Council as the USCG representative. Captain Caputo is the Chief of Maritime Law Enforcement for the Seventeenth Coast Guard District. The USCG representative is a non-voting member of the Council who assists with decision making, specifically on enforcement and safety issues.
Mr. Ivan Weinstein participated during this meeting as a representative of the US State Department in the Office of Marine Conservation.
Re-appointed to the Council for three-year terms are Craig Cross and Andy Mezirow. Mr. Cross has been involved in the Council process for over 20 years and currently works for Aleutian Spray Fisheries in Seattle. This will be his third term on the Council. Mr. Mezirow has been re-appointed to his second term on the Council after serving on the Council’s Advisory Panel. Mr. Mezirow is a charter vessel business owner based in Seward.
