The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is seeking interested individuals for nomination to open seats on the New England Fishery Management Council. Candidates "by reason of their occupation or other experience, scientific expertise or training must be knowledgeable and experienced in ways related to fishery resources of New England." One at-large seat and one obligatory seat will be open to nominations and are currently held by:

Dana Rice of Maine (at-large)
Rodney Avila of Massachusetts (obligatory)

The New England Fishery Management Council is one of eight regional councils that manage our nation’s marine fisheries seaward of state territorial waters. Responsibilities include the development of fishery management plans that are submitted to the National Marine Fisheries Service and the Secretary of Commerce for approval and implementation.

Qualified individuals interested in being considered for nomination to the Council should contact Melanie Griffin at (617) 626-1528 or e-mail melanie.griffin@state.ma.us by January 31, 2006. Nominees must complete a comprehensive application that will be provided by MarineFisheries
and includes a philosophy statement and financial disclosure statement. For further information on the Council and the Council process, please visit www.nefmc.org.