The following was released by NOAA:
WASHINGTON – June 23, 2011 – After 31 years of distinguished public service, Patricia Kurkul, the Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service, has announced she will retire at the end of 2011. I want to thank Pat Kurkul for her outstanding service to the Northeast region, NOAA’s Fisheries Service and our nation.
As regional administrator in the Northeast since 1999, Pat has helped lead the region during a period of important rebuilding of cod, flounder, haddock and other groundfish, our nation’s oldest fishery.
A Massachusetts native, Pat came to NOAA in 1980 with a background in economics, a bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts and a master of science degree in resource economics from the University of Rhode Island. She worked as a fishery policy analyst and then directed the Northeast Region’s Sustainable Fisheries Division before she was named to the regional administrator position.
In the next months, NOAA will conduct a search to find a successor for Pat in this important position. We expect this time will allow for an effective transition in leadership.