June 5, 1998
Contact: Anne Donovan
(617) 727-9530, x411

Salem, Massachusetts -- Massachusetts' Environmental Affairs Secretary Trudy Coxe today officially passed the gavel to Keith Colwell, Minister of Nova Scotia's Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, who will serve as the Secretariat for the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment for 1998-1999. Massachusetts fulfilled the role of Secretariat for 1997-1998, staffing the Council and assisting in its efforts to promote the environmental stewardship of the Gulf of Maine. Peter Underwood, Deputy Minister, accepted the gavel on behalf of Colwell at the Council's semi-annual meeting in Salem, Massachusetts.

"It has been a pleasure serving as Council Secretariat," said Coxe. "Massachusetts has led the way for the Council to examine a number of important Gulfwide issues during its tenure, including the natural gas pipelines proposed in the Gulf and its watershed, the introduction of potentially dangerous exotic species through ship ballast water, and ship strikes of endangered North Atlantic right whales. I look forward to working with Nova Scotia as it continues these important efforts."

"Balancing and protecting the concerns of this valuable ecosystem will be a priority of the Secretariat in Nova Scotia," said Colwell. "With 1998 being the year of the Ocean, we're proud to serve in a lead role."

The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment is an international body brought together to foster cross-border cooperation among government, academic, and private groups. Their goal is to develop and implement a sustainable management strategy for the Gulf, which extends from Nantucket through the Bay of Fundy to Cape Sable, Nova Scotia. Its mission is to maintain and enhance environmental quality in the Gulf of Maine to allow for sustainable resource use by existing and future generations. Public and private representatives from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Maine, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia oversee the Gulf of Maine Council Program and its activities in marine monitoring, habitat protection, public education, and pollution prevention.