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“TRIBUTE TO VERNON MINTON, DIRECTOR OF THE ALABAMA MARINE RESOURCES DIVISION” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E242 on Feb. 16, 2011.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
TRIBUTE TO VERNON MINTON, DIRECTOR OF THE ALABAMA MARINE RESOURCES
DIVISION
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HON. JO BONNER
of alabama
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Mr. BONNER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Mr. Vernon Minton, one of the best friends of Alabama's Gulf Coast recreational and commercial fishermen, who recently passed away at the untimely age of 61. Vern Minton was a major force behind protecting and building Alabama's coastal fisheries and his loss will be sorely felt.
A graduate of Auburn University where he earned a master's degree in biology, Vern Minton began his life's work as a steward of Alabama's coastal fisheries in 1978 at the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. For the next 32 years, Mr. Minton would have increasing impact upon the science and the quality of Alabama's marine life. He assisted in the development of techniques for raising many species of fish and authored papers on raising marine animals in captivity.
By December 1990, Vern Minton was appointed director of the Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation which manages estuaries and saltwater resources along the state's Gulf Coast. He is credited with both the modernization of his department's enforcement methods as well as the creation of the state's inshore and offshore artificial reef programs.
Although Alabama has the smallest seacoast of the Gulf states, fish stocks in our state waters are robust, thanks to the leadership of Vern Minton. As a member of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, he was a consistent voice for the need of updated data to accurately calculate red snapper populations and set snapper fishing limits.
On behalf of the people of Alabama and the Gulf Coast who have benefitted from Vern's efforts to enhance and protect our marine life, I wish to extend my condolences to his wife Sharon; their children, Randal and Kristen; grandchild, T.J., and all their family and friends. You are each in our thoughts and prayers.
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