After 30 years with the At-Sea Processors Association (APA), Jim Gilmore, director of public affairs, will retire this summer.
The APA is a trade association representing six member companies that own and operate 16 U.S.-flag catcher/processor vessels that participate principally in the Alaska pollock fishery and U.S. West Coast Pacific whiting fishery.
Gilmore, who will retire 30 June, will be replaced by Matt Tinning, currently the associate vice president for oceans at the Environmental Defense Fund, a United States-based non-profit that pursues collaborative, market-based solutions to environmental problems.
APA currently has offices in Juneau, Alaska and Seattle, Washington, and Tinning said he will open an APA office in Washington, D.C.
Gilmore directed APA’s public affairs and corporate social responsibility programs, which helped to establish the Alaska pollock industry’s leadership position in global seafood sustainability.
For almost two decades, Gilmore has also led the Alaska pollock industry’s effort to become the largest certified sustainable fishery in the world," APA said a press release. "By achieving and maintaining certifications of the fishery under both the Marine Stewardship Council and Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management programs, his work has solidified Alaska pollock’s reputation as one of the world’s best managed fisheries."
Gilmore’s accomplishments include his work to enact the landmark American Fisheries Act, which paved the way for a catch share program for the largest U.S. fishery, the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Alaska pollock fishery.
“The advent of catch share management enabled the Alaska pollock catcher/processor sector to optimize food production, further minimize fishing effects on the environment, and strengthen the fleet’s international market competitiveness,” APA said.
“We are very grateful to Jim for his years of staunch advocacy and unwavering commitment to strengthening the Alaska pollock industry,” APA Executive Director Stephanie Madsen said.
Madsen said Tinning has been a leader in the NGO community, promoting precautionary, science-based fisheries management, according to Madsen.
“We are excited to have him put his considerable talents to work at APA,” she said.
Tinning brings over a decade’s worth of experience in the environmental-NGO community to the new position. Prior to his work with environmental non-profits, he served as a liaison officer at the Australian Embassy in Washington, D.C.
