January 24, 2023 — The executive director of the Newburyport-based New England Fishery Management Council is retiring.
The council opened its Jan. 24 to 26 meeting in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, with the announcement that Executive Director Thomas A. Nies, a 25-year veteran of the council staff, will retire this summer. The council is initiating a nationwide search for his replacement.
“I’m fully committed to the council process, said Nies in the announcement. “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my job.”
Nies joined the council staff in 1997. He first worked on the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan and then spent 13 years as the council’s lead analyst for groundfish. In that role, he led the Groundfish Plan Development Team (PDT), as he did the Herring PDT beforehand. He also helped develop a standardized bycatch reporting methodology for Northeast fisheries. He became executive director in 2013.