Overview Sponsors Honorary Congressional Committee Register

Member of Congress
The Honorable Robert J. Wittman
U.S. House of Representatives
Member, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans, and Wildlife of the House Committee on Natural Resources
Rob Wittman was first elected to serve the 1st Congressional District of Virginia - America's First District - in December of 2007. He was re-elected for his first full-term in the House of Representatives on November 4, 2008. For more than 20 years, Rob has served in several levels of government, from Montross Town Council to United States Congress. Rob won his first campaign for public office in 1986 when he was elected to the Montross Town Council, where he served for 10 years, four of them as Mayor. In 1995, Rob was elected to the Westmoreland County Board of Supervisors and was elected its Chairman in 2003. In 2005, voters in the 99th Legislative District elected Rob to the Virginia House of Delegates, where he served until he was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 2007. Rob is also an invaluable Member of the Committee on Natural Resources, to which he brings his professional expertise in water quality, fisheries, and other natural resource issues. He is a champion of the Chesapeake Bay -- for its environmental and economic attributes -- and has introduced legislation that will increase the accountability and effectiveness of cleaning up the Bay. He holds a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University, a MPH degree in Health Policy and Administration from the University of North Carolina, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology from Virginia Tech.
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Moderator:
Steve Murawski, PhD
Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor
NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
Dr. Steven Murawski is the Director of Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor for NOAA Fisheries Service, a position he has held since May of 2005. In addition to these duties, he was selected to be the NOAA Ecosystem Goal Team Lead in January 2006. As Goal Team Lead, Dr. Murawski is responsible for out-year strategic planning and budget development for all of NOAA’s ecosystem activities which amount to $1.2 billion in 2009. Currently, Dr. Murawski works to move forward ecosystem approaches to management both at NOAA and in conjunction with other federal agencies and international bodies. He has published over 150 reports, articles and other documents, appearing several notable journals. During his career, Dr. Murawski has been a key representative on several committees and councils. His current roles include official U.S. delegate to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), NOAA representative to the White House interagency Joint Sub-Committee on Science and Technology (JSOST), and member on the Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (GLOBEC) Program Steering Committee. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, in 1984.

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Panelists:
Sebastian Belle
Executive Director
Maine Aquaculture Association
Mr. Belle is the Executive Director of the Maine Aquaculture Association (MAA), a private non-profit association representing Maine shellfish and finfish growers. Prior to joining the MAA, Mr. Belle was the Maine state aquaculture coordinator, working for the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Additionally, Mr. Belle is President of Econ-Aqua an international consulting firm specializing in project development, farm management, financial due diligence, and risk analysis and control. Mr. Belle has served as operations manager for commercial tuna and Atlantic salmon farming companies and as a technical consultant on over 20 major commercial aquaculture ventures for investment groups from Europe and North and South America. Sebastian Belle began his career as a commercial fisherman in the Alaskan crab and East coast offshore lobster fisheries. Mr. Belle holds degrees in fisheries biology and agriculture.

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Susan Hanna, PhD
Professor of Marine Economics
Oregon State University
Dr. Hanna is professor of marine economics at Oregon State University, affiliated with the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station and with Oregon Sea Grant. Her research and publications are in the area of marine economics and policy, with an emphasis on fishery management, ecosystem-based fishery management, property rights and institutional design. Dr. Hanna has served as a scientific advisor to many organizations such as the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Northwest Power and Conservation Council. She served on the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC), National Academy of Sciences, and has served on several NRC Committees, including the Committee to Review Individual Quotas in Fisheries and the Committee on Protection and Management of Pacific Northwest Anadromous Salmonids.

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Donald McIsaac, PhD
Executive Director
Pacific Fishery Management Council
Donald McIsaac is the Executive Director of the Pacific Marine Fisheries Management Council. Don is responsible for overseeing all operations of the Council, including managing the Council staff and implementing the actions and policies of the Council. He received his Bachelors degree from Humboldt State University and Masters and Doctorate degrees from the University of Washington. Prior to coming to the Council, Don worked for 25 years for the Washington and Oregon State fishery management agencies, concentrating on interjurisdictional fishery management matters in the latter years.

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Melanie Siggs
Director
Seafood Choices Alliance
Melanie Siggs is the Director of Seafood Choices Alliance, an international program of SeaWeb that provides leadership and creates opportunities for change across the seafood industry and ocean conservation community. Melanie’s business experience in the corporate sector has focused on responsible business and food production. She has extensive experience working on these issues with the international community. For example, she has worked with FAO (UN) Fisheries to develop international trade meetings in Europe, Japan, Russia and Indonesia and was head of communications for the Finnish group UPM-Kymmene, one of the world’s largest forest products groups. Melanie holds a Masters (MSc) in Responsibility & Business Practice and has a breadth of business experience, strong skills in strategic positioning and corporate affairs, as well as a personal passion for responsible business and food production.

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