Down Nominated for Reappointment to NPFMC

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has nominated seafood industry veteran Kenny Down for reappointment to one of two obligatory Washington state seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Inslee made his recommendation on March 7 to Janet Colt, assistant administrator for Fisheries with the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Down has served as a voting member of the council since 2015 and is eligible for reappointment for a final term.  Inslee also named Becca Robbins-Gisclair and Jamie Goen as his second and third choices respectively.

Down is the president and owner of Seaquest Ventures, described as a leader in revolutionary innovations for the utilization and stewardship of marine resources. Prior to founding Seaquest in 2018, Down was president and chief executive officer from 2012 to 2018 of Blue North Fisheries, which operated several hook-and-line cod freezer vessels.

Before joining Blue North, Down was the first executive director of the Freezer Longline Coalition, a trade organization representing owners and operators of catcher/processor fishing vessels who longline to harvest groundfish in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska.

Down also has 20 years of experience in the longline fishing industry in Alaska and is a U.S. Coast Guard licensed chief engineer and port engineer.

Robbins-Gisclair is the senior director of arctic programs for Ocean Conservancy. She has been involved in the federal council process for two decades, including six years on the Advisory Panel, and as a board member of the North Pacific Research Board.

She is also a domestic advisor for the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission and the Bering Sea Fishery Advisory Body and has worked for several Alaska organizations as a natural resources advisor.

Goen is the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, the Seattle-based trade organization representing most independent harvesters of Bering Sea crab. She is a regular participant in the council process, Prior to her current pot, she worked as staff for the International Pacific Halibut Commission and also has served as a fishery policy analyst for the National Marine Fishery Service.

Source: https://fishermensnews.com/down-nominated-for-reappointment-to-npfmc/