Saving Seafood

State Dept. Appoints NOAAโ€™s Chris Oliver Alternate Commissioner to IPHC

October 1, 2018 โ€” SEAFOOD NEWS โ€” Earlier this month, the State Department announced two new appointments to the three-member U.S. delegation of the Seattle-based International Pacific Halibut Commission. Yesterday, the third new commissioner was announced.

As with the previous announcement, yesterdayโ€™s appointment of Chris Oliver, Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, to replace Dr. Jim Balsiger, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries in Alaska is being done on a temporary basis until the Presidentโ€™s โ€œduly designatedโ€ commissioner is appointed.

In all three cases, it is expected President Trumpโ€™s designation will be the same names appointed under โ€˜alternateโ€™ status. They are: Bob Alverson, executive director of the Fishing Vessel Owners Association; Richard Yamada, president of the Alaska Charter Association and owner of Shelter Lodge; and Chris Oliver. Only Alverson is a reappointment.

โ€œWhile NOAA awaits the Presidential appointments for the International Pacific Halibut Commission commissioners, Chris Oliver, the Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, has been appointed by the Department of State as an Alternate Commissioner to the IPHC serving in the Federal Commissioner role,โ€ the announcement read.

Alverson and Yamada were appointed to terms ending January 31, 2019. That is one day before the end of the annual IPHC meeting; presumably the Presidentโ€™s designation will be done for a longer term so the Commissioners can complete the annual meeting. Oliverโ€™s term is through the end of March 2019.

โ€œAs Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, Chris oversees the management and conservation of recreational and commercial fisheries across the United States. He previously served as the Executive Director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council where he had direct experience working with the Pacific halibut fishery,โ€ read yesterdayโ€™s release.

The statement referred to the Northern Pacific Halibut Act of 1982 as the defining legislation in the U.S. that put the Canadian-U.S. Treaty into law.

Below is the section of the law relevant to appointments of Commissioners.

โ€œ16 U.S. Code ยง 773a โ€“ International Pacific Halibut Commission

The United States shall be represented on the Commission by three United States Commissioners to be appointed by the President and to serve at his pleasure. The Commissioners shall receive no compensation for their services as Commissioners. Each United States Commissioner shall be appointed for a term of office not to exceed 2 years, but is eligible for reappointment. Any United States Commissioner may be appointed for a term of less than 2 years if such appointment is necessary to ensure that the terms of office of not more than two Commissioners will expire in any 1 year. A vacancy among the United States Commissioners shall be filled by the President in the manner in which the original appointment was made, but any Commissioner appointed to fill a vacancy occurring before the expiration of the term for which the Commissionerโ€™s predecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the remainder of such term. Of the Commissionersโ€”

(1) one shall be an official of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration; and

(2) two shall be knowledgeable or experienced concerning the Northern Pacific halibut fishery; of these, one shall be a resident of Alaska and the other shall be a nonresident of Alaska. Of the three commissioners described in paragraphs (1) and (2), one shall be a voting member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

(3) Commissioners shall not be considered Federal employees except for the purposes of injury compensation or tort claims liability as provided in section 8101 et seq. of title 5 and section 2671 et seq. of title 28. This subsection shall take effect on the 90th day after May 17, 1982.

(b) Alternate United States Commissioners

The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary, may designate from time to time alternate United States Commissioners to the commission. An Alternate United States Commissioner may exercise, at any meeting of the Commission, all powers and duties of a United States Commissioner in the absence of a duly designated Commissioner for whatever reason. The number of such alternate United States Commissioners that may be designated for any such meeting shall be limited to the number of authorized United States Commissioners that will not be present.โ€

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Terms Extended for U.S. IPHC Commissioners While Commerce, State, and White House Weigh Appointments

March 30, 2018 โ€” SEAFOOD NEWS โ€” Yesterday Linda Behnken and Bob Alverson, current U.S. Commissioners on the International Pacific Halibut Commission, both received emails from the Department of State extending their current terms to August 31, 2018.

โ€œThis appointment is effective immediately and expires on August 31, 2018, or whenever another Alternate or presidentially-appointed Commissioner is appointed to fulfill the relevant duties, whichever occurs first,โ€ wrote Judith Garber, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs at the State Department.

Although the appointment is a presidential decision, itโ€™s not unusual for reappointments, or extensions of terms as in this case, to be made by the State Department, the agency that oversees international commissions.

Both Behnken and Alversonโ€™s terms ended March 31, 2018. Both are preparing for a meeting with the Canadian commissioners in mid-April to work on issues within the Commissionโ€™s harvest policy that resulted in not reaching an agreement on catch limits at the groupโ€™s annual meeting in January.

The federal agencies are currently considering six names for the two seats. Besides Behnkenโ€™s and Alversonโ€™s nominations, Andy Mezirow, Richard Yamada, and Duane Edelman were nominated for Behnkenโ€™s Alaska seat and Steve Joner was nominated for Alversonโ€™s seat. Mezirow and Yamada are recreational charter operators, Edelman is a fisherman, and Joner is a fisheries manager for the Makah Tribe.

This story originally appeared on Seafoodnews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.