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CAPTAIN VINCENT O’SHEA NAMED NEW ASMFC EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
(from Jersey Coast Anglers Association March 2002 Newsletter)
Susan Shipman, Chair of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, today announced the selection of Captain John Vincent O'Shea, U.S. Coast Guard, as the Commission’s new Executive Director.
“Vince O'Shea is an outstanding and dynamic leader with a long history in fisheries issues,” said Ms. Shipman. “We are extremely fortunate to have been able to recruit such a well-known and talented individual to lead us through the challenges ahead.”
Captain O’Shea has spent over 30 years with the U. S. Coast Guard, much of it working on fisheries issues. During the early 1990s, he was in charge of fisheries law enforcement at the Coast Guard’s headquarters in Washington, D.C. While in Washington he had the opportunity to become familiar with many state marine fisheries programs, and worked with the Commission’s Law Enforcement Committee. For the past five years, Captain O’Shea has been working in the Coast Guard’s 12th District office in Juneau Alaska in various positions. He has been the Coast Guard’s representative to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Currently, he is the Chief of Operations for the 12th District.
“We have a lot to do to keep building the partnership among the states and with our colleagues in the federal government,” said Ms. Shipman. “Vince has shown us that he can be a sensitive and effective team builder. He will also be an outstanding representative of the states, to the Congress, federal agency partners, and to the larger commercial, recreational and environmental fisheries communities.”
The position of Executive Director becomes vacant on January 28, 2002, when the current Executive Director, John H. Dunnigan, leaves to become the Director of the Office of Sustainable Fisheries at the National Marine Fisheries Service. Mr. Dunnigan served the states for the past eleven years.
Captain O’Shea expressed his delight at having this opportunity. “Jack Dunnigan has done a terrific job at the Commission, and leaves very big shoes to fill,” he said. “It is an honor for me to have this opportunity to follow such a high caliber professional. I am humbled, thrilled, and excited!”
Captain O’Shea is expected to begin his new duties full-time on or before April 15, 2002. He will attend the Commission’s February Meeting Week in Washington, D.C., on February 18-21, 2002.
The Commission was formed by the fifteen Atlantic coast states 60 years ago to assist them in managing and conserving their shared coastal fishery resources. The states have found that their mutual interest in sustaining healthy coastal fishery resources is best achieved by working together cooperatively, in collaboration with the federal government. Through this approach, the states uphold their collective fisheries management responsibilities in a cost effective, timely, and responsive fashion.