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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 34 Number 2
October 2006
Blue Water brings in Ruais as new executive director
BARNEGAT LIGHT, NJ – Recognizing the many common interests between swordfish and bluefin tuna fishermen, Blue Water Fishermen’s Association has hired Rich Ruais to serve as its new executive director.
Ruais is currently executive director of the East Coast Tuna Association (ECTA). Under an agreement between Blue Water and ECTA, Ruais will now work as executive director for both groups.
On the Blue Water end, Ruais replaces Nelson Beideman, who died unexpectedly on May 25, 2006. Beideman led Blue Water from its inception in the 1989, initially as president and then as executive director. Ruais becomes the only other person to have ever held the association’s executive director post.
ECTA President Joe Jancewicz and Blue Water President Ernie Panacek officially announced the new arrangement in late September.
Panacek said, “Rich is very well known to many of our members and fishing businesses through his solid contributions to the ICCAT highly migratory species management process.”
ICCAT is the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas.
Added Jancewicz, “This new relationship will strengthen both organizations and maintain protection of the traditional East Coast giant bluefin hand gear and purse seine fisheries.”
Keeping high profile
Ruais will perform different functions for each association, and each will maintain its own policymaking and fund-raising operations.
By sharing Ruais’ time as executive director, the two groups will be able to split his salary, which means that even in these troubled times of reduced bluefin and swordfish landings, Ruais will be able to continue to represent tuna fishermen while also providing a strong voice for the swordfish industry.
Ruais said he was extremely pleased that Blue Water’s board had confidence in his ability to take on the executive director position.
Of the leadership change, Terri Beideman, who has served as Blue Water assistant executive director, said, “There’s no question he’s well qualified to do the job. He knows a lot of the issues.”
Other roles
Blue Water’s extremely active board of directors has always supported its executive director.
According to Panacek, the board was able to convince Terri Beideman to “continue working closely with Rich for an indefinite period to ensure a seamless transition.”
Beideman confirmed that point, though she said much of Blue Water’s administrative work, including maintenance of the association’s database, would be turned over to Blue Water Treasurer Gail Johnson.
“She’s been there from the start. She was an incorporator,” said Beideman, who emphasized the importance of Johnson’s long history with Blue Water and her institutional memory of key swordfish issues and association positions.
A new time
While the US swordfish fleet is spread out across a much broader geographic range than the Northeast-based bluefin tuna fleet, Ruais said they shared many common issues, especially in the ICCAT arena, which will make it possible for him to fully represent large pelagic longliners.
Plus, the terrain and its people are familiar.
“I’ve worked with Nelson and Terri on a number of issues over the years,” he said.
Ruais also didn’t feel like he’d be taking on his new job alone.
“Blue Water has a very well established network and a really strong board of directors with savvy business sense,” he said. “I think it’s going to work out well.”
Janice M. Plante
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