 Knowles Names Three To State Board of Fisheries Brett Huber, Gerry Merrigan, Art Nelson Chosen for Three-year Terms April 1, 2002
"These new members to the Fish Board bring a broad diversity of understanding of Alaska fisheries, including both sport and commercial fisheries, and both small boat and blue water fisheries, " Knowles said. "All three also have a strong commitment to the board process and have worked with it in the past. I'm confident that these three individuals will be positive, productive members as the board works through the complex issues that face Alaska fisheries today." According to the news release announcing the appointments, Brett Huber of Soldotna has an extensive record of work on fisheries issues, having served on several committees that worked with the Fish Board and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on various issues. He also has served on other the Kenai River Special Management Area Advisory Board and the Mat Su Blue Ribbon Fisheries Commission. Huber is executive director of Kenai River Sport Fishing Association and serves as vice-president of the Alaska Outdoor Council. Previously, he worked as a legislative aide and staff to the Senate Resources Committee, and was a guide and lodge operator in Talkeetna and Bristol Bay. Gerry Merrigan of Petersburg is an active commercial fishermen who holds a Southeast salmon power troll permit and federal halibut quota shares, and has worked as a crewman in Bristol Bay and other fisheries according to the news release. He also works as a policy analyst for Prowler Fisheries, is a former executive director of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, and served for five years on the Northern Panel of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. Merrigan previously worked as a fisheries biologist for the state, and earned his masters in forestry from Duke University. Art Nelson of Anchorage has several years of commercial fishing experience on a family-owned vessel in Prince William Sound, and he worked as a fisheries specialist for the Bering Sea Fishermen's Association and the Nome-based Kawerak, Inc., where he worked to restore chum runs to the AYK region. Nelson currently serves as employment and development coordinator for the At-Sea Processors Association that represents vessels involved in the Bering Sea pollock fishery. A graduate of Dimond High in Anchorage, Nelson studied biology at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He worked during the clean-up of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill and spent one summer as a fisheries technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. "Gov. Knowles has put forward an excellent slate in selecting these new members to the Fish Board," said Bob Thorstensen, president of the United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA). "The UFA board is particularly pleased to have a commercial fisherman with the hands on understanding of these issues as Gerry Merrigan on the board, and Art Nelson who brings such diverse experience in commercial fisheries." "We're very pleased that the Governor has appointed Art Nelson to the Board of Fish," said Kawerak president Loretta Bullard. "Art previously worked as our Fisheries Specialist here at Kawerak and he did an excellent job for us. He's hard working, articulate, outgoing, has a good head on his shoulders, and is very familiar with fisheries throughout the state. He'll be an outstanding member of the Board of Fish." "I can't think anyone better for the fish board than Brett Huber," said longtime sport fish enthusiast Bruce Knowles of Wasilla. "I've worked alongside Brett for the past ten years and can tell you that nobody knows these issues better and is more aware of what we need in Alaska than he. I think Brett will be an outstanding board member." Knowles thanked outgoing members Dan Coffey of Anchorage, Grant Miller of Sitka, and Virgil Umphenour of Fairbanks for their service to the State of Alaska. "The fish board is perhaps one of the most challenging and difficult of our volunteer boards, but Alaska's fish management is the finest in the nation thanks to the dedication of board members like Virgil Umphenour, Dan Coffey, and Grant Miller," Knowles said. "I congratulate these outgoing board members for their leadership on such initiatives as the sustainable fishery policy, and the protection of the wild salmon runs to western Alaska that so many villagers depend upon. And I also thank them for taking the board process itself to a new level of responsiveness for the concerns of Alaskans and protection for the resource."
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