- Division of Marine Fisheries
The Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission (MFAC) held its annual elections at its May 2026 meeting at the Katharine Cornell Theater in Tisbury. The outgoing Chair, Ray Kane, nominated Shelley Edmundson to be the next MFAC Chair—a motion that was unanimously approved in front of her hometown crowd on Martha’s Vineyard.
Shelley is the Executive Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, a non-profit organization to safeguard the island’s fishing heritage and future by supporting sustainable small-boat fishing fleets owned and operated by islanders. Shelley also holds a Ph.D. in Zoology/Marine Biology from the University of New Hampshire and her doctoral studies focused on channeled whelk, a marine snail species of critical importance to commercial fishers on the Vineyard. Shelley is the second female chair of the MFAC, following Elizabeth Stromeyer (former owner of Red Top Bait and Tackle) who served as chair in the 1980s and early 1990s. Shelley was previously the MFAC’s Clerk.
Ray Kane is the MFAC’s longest tenured member having been appointed in 2008. At the start of his tenure as Chair in August 2016, Ray managed the MFAC through significant turnover in composition with seven new members being appointed with the election of former Governor Baker. In the decade since, Ray has been a steady hand helping DMF and the MFAC navigate a variety of fisheries management challenges. While stepping down as Chair, Ray will remain on the MFAC where he will be an advocate for the Commonwealth’s fisheries and fishers. He has more than 40 years’ experience in commercial fishing for lobster, groundfish, and tuna, and is currently outreach spokesperson for the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance and the Governor’s appointee to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
The MFAC also reappointed Bill Doyle as Vice-Chair and elected Chris McGuire to fill the newly vacated Clerk position. Bill has been in the seafood industry since the 1980s and is currently the owner-operator of Plymouth Rock Oyster Growers, an aquaculture and wholesale dealer business. He also serves on DMF’s Shellfish Advisory Panel and Seafood Marketing Commission. Chris has been the Director of the Ocean Program at The Nature Conservancy since 2011 and has been involved in cooperative research with Massachusetts fishers and serves on various state and federal committees, including chairing the Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary Advisory Council and the New England Fishery Management Council’s Habitat Advisory Panel.
The MFAC is a nine-member public body appointed by the Governor with expertise in the Commonwealth’s fisheries and representative of the state’s commercial and recreational fishing interests. The body advises DMF on all matters of fisheries management and has the authority to approve or disapprove certain DMF recommended regulations and the appointment of the DMF Director.
By Jared Silva, Senior Policy Analyst
