Our Board of Directors

Terry Alexander

Terry has been a Maine fisherman for over 40 years. After fishing with his father as a youngster, he became a full-time deckhand onboard a trawler at age 16 and was hired as a fishing boat captain at 22. Terry purchased his own boat in 1990 and later had the 62-foot trawler Jocka built to his specifications. The Jocka fishes for groundfish in the winter in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank, and in the summer it fishes for squid from Nantucket to waters south of New York. Terry also owns the Rachel T that has the ability to use trawl gear to harvest northern shrimp. The Rachel T gillnets for groundfish in the late summer and winter and it fishes for monkfish in waters off Rhode Island and New York in the spring and early summer. Terry has engaged in a significant amount of cooperative research on both the Rachel T and the Jocka, from Nordmore grate work in the northern shrimp fishery to the industry-based cod survey for the State of Massachusetts in the Gulf of Maine.

Katie Almeida

Katie is the Senior Representative for Government Relations and Sustainability for the Town Dock located in Point Judith, Rhode Island. The Town Dock is the largest supplier of calamari in the United States. They own seven otter trawl vessels that fish for longfin squid, illex squid, whiting, butterfish, fluke, scup, black sea bass, herring, and a mix of groundfish. Katie is responsible for following all state and federal regulations that pertain to the species on which the Town Dock relies. She also sits on the following Advisory Panels: Squid/Mackerel/Butterfish, Fluke/Scup/Black Sea Bass, River Herring/Shad, and Small Mesh Multispecies, as well as the New Bedford working group for Wind Industry Issues and the Rhode Island Industry Advisory Committee.

Bonnie Brady

Bonnie began as the Executive Director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association (LICFA) in 2000, after working as a reporter, paramedic, DC Hill staffer, and Peace Corps volunteer in Cameroun. LICFA represents commercial fishermen of all gear types throughout Long Island. She lives in Montauk, New York’s largest commercial fishing port, with her commercial fisherman husband, Dave Aripotch, and their two daughters

Tom Dameron

Tom is the founder of Overboard Solutions, a safety management platform for the commercial fishing industry scheduled for launch in 2019. He has been involved in the Atlantic surfclam/ocean quahog industries since starting as a deckhand in 1983 with the American Original Corporation and working his way up to captain. After earning his USCG 1600-ton Master’s License and fishing a couple of catcher/processor vessels in the Bering Sea, Tom became interested in safety management within the fishing industry and is a long-time USCG Commercial Fishery Safety Advisory Committee member. Since 2009, after 29 years at sea, Tom has helped manage the Surfside Foods fleet of clam vessels and more recently became a Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Advisory Panel member. Tom was involved in the establishment of the New Bedford’s Fishermen Safety Training Program; was project manager for the major modification of the F/V Christi-Caroline; and has contributed in stock assessment gear design at the federal and state levels. Tom’s current projects include final development of the safety management platform, the protection of essential fish habitat, and ensuring the responsible development of offshore energy and aquaculture resources.

Greg DiDomenico

Greg works for Lund’s Fisheries based in Cape May, NJ. In this role, he attends Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meetings in order to evaluate changes to the Fishery Management Plans under the authority of these regulatory bodies. He is responsible for submitting written comments and giving public testimony on behalf of New Jersey seafood industry members. He represents the association to the New Jersey State Delegation as well as to U.S. Federal Delegations. This requires frequent communication and the development of a sound working relationship with legislative staff. In addition he tracks state and federal legislation and follow the actions of relevant committees. His experience within the management process, combined with his understanding of the everyday operations of many fisheries, has given him a thorough understanding of all aspects of fisheries management.

Jarrett Drake

Growing up on the ocean in Mattapoisett and then Marion, MA Jarrett has been fishing, quahogging, oystering and lobstering as long as he can remember. After attending Southeastern Massachusetts University (now UMass Dartmouth) for electrical engineering, Jarrett worked in a cubical fixing computers for Servonics Corp. That only lasted a year, until he decided to go back to fishing because the money and views were much better!

Currently, he owns and operates the 42 foot F/V Cynthia Lee, and the 48 foot F/V Encourager. Jarrett has a U.S. Coast Guard Masters, up to 100 gross tons Near Coastal Captain’s license with over 32,000 logged hours. He sits on the Board of Directors for the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts and is involved in many research grant projects for the MA Division of Marine Fisheries, Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, University of MA Dartmouth SMAST, and the University of Maryland. He is also the Vice President, Delegate, and Executive Committee member of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, has been appointed to the Area 2 Lobster Conservation Management Team, and is a member of BOEM’s Fisheries Working Group on Offshore Renewable Energy.

Eric Hansen

Eric is the owner of the scallop vessel F/V Endeavor based out of New Bedford, MA. He has a total of 40 years of experience in the scallop industry, starting as a deckhand in 1978 and working his way up to captain and then owner. He served as a scallop vessel captain for 28 years. Eric is a Board member of the Fisheries Survival Fund and a member of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Scallop and Monkfish Advisory Panels. He is also a Massachusetts Fisheries Institute (MFI) Industry Advisor, and member of the University of Massachusetts’ School for Marine Science and Technology’s Fishermen’s Steering Committee, the MA Fisherman’s Working Group on Offshore Wind Energy, and the New Bedford Port Authority’s Working Group on Offshore Wind Development.

Dewey Hemilright

Dewey is the owner/operator of the 42-foot F/V Tarbaby with his homeport in Wanchese, NC. He has been commercial fishing for 24 years off the East Coast, ranging from New York to Florida and has a wide range of fisheries experience. He has served on advisory panels for Highly Migratory Species (National Marine Fisheries Service), Dolphin-Wahoo (South Atlantic Fishery Management Council) and as chairman of the N.C. Spiny Dogfish Compliance Advisory Panel. Dewey holds permits and fishes for tuna, swordfish, dolphin-wahoo, bluefish, spiny dogfish, smooth dogfish, croakers, blueline tilefish, golden tilefish and large coastal sharks. He has also been active in an outreach program for K- 12 students across the country for the past seven years through Provider Pals. His presentation showcases an array of photos from his years on the water, and summarizes a day in the life of a commercial fisherman, encouraging students to consider the logistics and challenges that are involved with operating a fishing vessel for a living. Dewey has recently expanded his outreach program by partnering with the N.C. Coastal Federation, sharing his lesson with over 400 middle school students living on the coast of North Carolina.

Peter Hughes

Chairman

Located in Cape May, New Jersey, Peter is the Director of Sustainability for Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. After commercial fishing for squid and mackerel on the East Coast, Peter started working for Atlantic Capes Fisheries in 1990. Peter is currently a voting member of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the liaison to the New England Fishery Management Council, helping them facilitate policy and the responsible stewardship of our nation’s oceans. Peter is also a Board member of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS), a National Science Foundation recognized Science Center. “Maintaining the sustainability of our living marine resources through the use of the best available science is an essential goal and one I will continue to strive to achieve.” Peter and his wife Gwen are raising two children in Stone Harbor, NJ where they have lived for over 30 years.

Meghan Lapp

Meghan is the fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., the largest producer and trader of sea-frozen seafood on the U.S. East Coast. Seafreeze operates two freezer trawlers out of North Kingstown, RI, that harvest species such as squid, mackerel, butterfish and herring. Meghan is a member of the New England Fishery Management Council’s Herring and Habitat Advisory Panels, a member of the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Mackerel, Squid, Butterfish Advisory Panel and Ecosystems and Ocean Planning Advisory Panel, and a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Menhaden Advisory Panel.

Mike Okoniewski

Mike is semi-retired after 50 plus years in the processing and sales sectors of the seafood industry. He had the good fortune to manage individual and regional processing operations and coordinate fleet logistics in Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, he traveled the world to promote sales of coastal pelagic species and groundfish. He added fisheries management and policy to his list in 2001 and is still on seven committees and advisory bodies. This includes the PFMC’s Coastal Pelagic Species and Groundfish Advisory Subpanels and the Marine Planning Committee. Also, the board for the West Coast Pelagic Conservation Group. Their primary focus is a collaborative CPS survey with the SWFSC, the NOAA ship R/V Reuben Lasker, and the seiner F/V Lisa Marie.

Eric Reid

Treasurer

As an active member of the fishing community in all fisheries in the Mid-Atlantic and New England for over 40 years, Eric has developed extensive knowledge of both fishing operations and shoreside infrastructure. He has personal experience both on board fishing vessels and managing shoreside operations from New Jersey to Maine. Eric is currently serving his second term as a New England Fishery Management Council member from Rhode Island, serves as the liaison to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and is also a commissioner to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (legislative proxy) and the commercial fisheries commissioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization. Eric is a fisheries industry consultant with offices in North Kingstown, RI and Brick, NJ.

Steve Scheiblauer

Steve Scheiblauer retired in 2017 after 42 years as harbormaster in Santa Cruz and Monterey, California. During that time he worked extensively with fishermen on infrastructure needs and fishery management issues. He now serves as a consultant to several California commercial fishing organizations, one of which is directly impacted by OSW development. He also serves on the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Habitat and Marine Planning Committees, and is Chair of the Monterey Bay Fisheries Trust Board of Directors. He has been deeply involved in offshore wind issues since 2016. Steve lives in Santa Cruz, CA, with his wife Kim.

Lori Steele

Since late 2015, Lori Steele has served as the Executive Director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA), a trade association that represents shore-based seafood processing companies throughout OR, WA, and CA. WCSPA actively engages on numerous state, regional, and Federal policy and management issues on behalf of its member companies. Prior to joining WCSPA, Lori worked for 18 years as a fishery analyst for the New England Fishery Management Council, focusing primarily on Atlantic herring, whiting, and groundfish management issues. She spent one year prior to her time with the New England Council working for the fishing industry in New England, developing a new non-profit grassroots organization for small scale commercial fishermen. Lori’s educational background is also focused on fisheries – she holds a BS in Marine Science and Biology from the University of Miami and a Master’s Degree in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University. Lori currently lives in Astoria, OR, where WCSPA is based.

Mary Beth Tooley

Mary Beth represented the State of Maine as an at-large member of the New England Fishery Management Council from 2008-2017. She is currently the government relations representative for the O’Hara Corporation of Rockland, ME, a family-owned company with diverse fisheries interest from the North Atlantic to the Bering Sea. Mary Beth also is the former executive director of the East Coast Pelagic Association. Additionally, she is a principal in the Marine Resources Education Project, a federally-funded fisheries education and outreach effort organized in partnership with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. The project provides fishermen with the necessary tools to understand and participate in the region’s scientific and management processes. She serves as an industry advisor to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.