NOAA Fisheries on June 27 announced appointments and reappointments to the eight regional fishery management councils, including seats on the Pacific Council, North Pacific Council and Western Pacific Council.
For the Pacific Council, with members from California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, Aldrich “Butch” Smith of Washington, was reappointed to an obligatory seat and Bradley Pettinger of Oregon to an at-large seat.
Smith is the owner of CoHo Enterprises, a construction firm, and Coho Charters & Motel, both in Ilwaco, Wash. Pettinger, a veteran West Coast harvester, is the former director of the Oregon Trawl Commission.
Kenny Down of Washington was reappointed, and Ryuichi “Rudy” Tsukada of Alaska was appointed, to obligatory seats on the North Pacific Council, which has members from Alaska and Washington.
Down is the owner of Seaquest Ventures, a maritime contract and investment advisory firm in Seattle. Tsukada is the chief operating officer for Coastal Villages Region Fund, one of six western Alaska nonprofit Native firms that own catch shares in Bering Sea fisheries through the state’s Community Development Quota (CDQ) program.
Heinz Hofschneider of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands was appointed to an obligatory seat on the Western Pacific Council, while Roger Dang of Hawaii and Pedro Itibus of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands were reappointed to at-large seats.
The Western Pacific Council includes members from American Samoa, Guam, Hawaii and the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.
Hofschneider is the former Speaker of the Northern Mariana Islands House of Representatives and a four-time candidate for governor of the Northern Mariana Islands. Dang is the president of Fresh Island Fish in Honolulu, which provides wholesale fish to hotels and restaurants. Itibus is the former Commonwealth Development Authority board chairman, and former member of upper management of the Commonwealth’s Department of Public Lands.