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Earlier this week, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Chris Oliver was selected as Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. As Assistant Administrator, Oliver will oversee the federal agency responsible for the management and conservation of recreational and commercial fisheries. The agency has offices in 15 states and U.S. territories, including five regional offices, six science centers, and 24 labs and fish stations.

For the past 27 years, Oliver worked at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) – first as a fisheries biologist and since 2002 as executive director – where he served as lead staff for legislative and international issues, in addition to being responsible for all administrative and operational aspects of the Council process. A Texas native, Oliver also worked on Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery management issues prior to moving to Alaska in 1990.

“I understand how important stakeholder involvement, transparency, and best available science are to making the right policy decisions and I plan to ensure those tenets of the Magnuson-Stevens Act are applied across the board while I am leading the agency,” said Oliver. “I intend to rely heavily upon the regional expertise of the eight fishery management Councils and the associated NOAA Fisheries Regions and Science Centers, and to ensure they have the resources necessary to effectively tackle region-specific issues.”

In addition to managing productive and sustainable domestic fisheries, including some aspects of marine aquaculture, Oliver will command the preservation and maintenance of safe sources of seafood, and the protection of marine mammals, marine protected species, and coastal fisheries habitat within the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

For any questions, please contact Nicole Vasilaros at [email protected]. 

View original release here.