FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE -- March 21, 1996

Lowry announces nominees for North Pacific and Pacific Fishery Management councils

OLYMPIA-Gov. Mike Lowry announced today that three nominees to fill Washington's obligatory seat on the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), and three nominees to fill Washington's obligatory seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) have been forwarded to US Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown.

"All of these individuals I have nominated today have demonstrated a commitment to, and knowledge of, the fishing issues affecting Washington state," Lowry said.

The governor nominated Mark Cedergreen, James H. Lone and Ed Owens for the PFMC position.

The 12-person PFMC manages commercial and recreational fishing three to 200 miles off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts. Council members serve three-year terms.

Mark Cedergreen, who lives in Westport, has been involved for 30 years in both the commercial and recreational fishing industries. He has worked with the PFMC on groundfish and salmon management issues, and presently chairs the council's Salmon Advisory Sub­panel.

Cedergreen also has been an active participant in the Pacific Salmon Commission process, and is a member of the commission's southern panel.

Besides serving the past year on the PFMC, James H. Lone is member of the Northwest Marine Trade Association Fish Committee, and founder and co-chair of the Citizen's Oversight Committee for Puget Sound Salmon and Marine Fish Enhancement.

A Seattle resident, Lone also participates in the state's annual salmon management planning process.

Ed Owens presently serves as executive director of the Coalition of Washington Ocean Fisherman. The group is involved in legislative initiatives dealing with fisheries management and habitat issues.

An Olympia resident, Owens is owner and chief executive officer of REACT Consulting Group, an economic development planning, marketing research and governmental relations firm.

The three candidates nominated for appointment to the NPFMC are Dr. Walter T. Pereya, David Fraser, and M. John Bundy.

The NPFMC has authority over fishing in the Arctic Ocean, the Bering Sea and the Pacific Ocean seaward of Alaska.

Dr. Walter T. Pereya, from Seattle, is currently serving a second term on the NPFMC. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors with Ocean Trust, based in Arlington, VA and with the National Fisheries Institute headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Pereya is owner and president of ProFish International, a seafood company with primary emphasis in North Pacific bottomfish.

A Port Townsend resident, David Fraser is an advisory panel member with NPFMC. He also serves on the Board of Directors for United Catcher Boats and Independent Fishermen for Fair Quotas.

Fraser has been a fisher since 1971 and is involved in many Pacific Coast and Alaska fisheries.

An attorney in Seattle, M. John Bundy's practice includes fisheries, taxation and business. Bundy is also the legal and business manager for Glacier Fish Co. and a charter member of the Washington Fish Growers Association.

Secretary Brown will make the final appointments in the coming months.

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For more information, contact the Governor's Communications Office at 360-753-6790.