The appointment of seven new members to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee brought the group’s membership to the full complement of 21.
The seven appointees by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo were Natasha Hayden, Meredith Moore, Linda O’Dierno, Jocelyn Runnebaum Ph.D., Sarah Schumann, Clayward Tam and Brett Veerhusen, according to an NOAA Fisheries release March 30.
“I'm extremely pleased to announce these seven new appointments made by the Secretary of Commerce,” Janet Coit, assistant administrator of NOAA Fisheries, said. "These new members have such a rich and diverse background working across a wide range of fisheries, seafood and marine resource issues.”
The committee advises NOAA and the secretary of Commerce on all living marine resource matters that fall under the department’s responsibilities, the release said.
The committee recently identified priority initiatives for incoming NOAA and Commerce leaders that include improving seafood businesses and trade, recovering protected species, supporting recreational opportunities, strengthening science and fishery data and enabling adaptive management, according to the release.
Hayden is a vice president for Afognak Native Corporation in Kodiak, Alaska. Moore is a director with the Ocean Conservancy Fish Conservation Program in Washington, D.C. O’Dierno of Somers, N.Y., works at the National Aquaculture Association. Runnebaum is a fisheries project manager with Nature Conservancy in Bath, Maine. Rhode Island’s Schumann is the owner/principal of Shining Seas Fisheries Consulting. Tam of Kailua, Hawaii, is with Pacific Islands Fisheries Group, and Veerhusen is a principal with Ocean Strategies in Seattle, Wash.
