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Commercial Fisheries News
Volume 37 Number 7
March 2010
Maryland’s Eric Schwaab chosen to head NMFS
WASHINGTON, DC – After almost a year of waiting and widespread speculation, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chief Jane Lubchenco announced on Feb. 10 that Eric Schwaab had been selected to become the new head of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS).
Schwaab, a virtual unknown in New England, has spent most of his 25-year career at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He started in 1983 as a natural resources police law enforcement officer and later served as director of the Maryland Forest Service, director of the Maryland Forest, Wildlife, and Heritage Service, and then director of the state’s Marine Fisheries Service.
Between 2003 and 2007, he took a hiatus to serve as resource director for the Association of Fish and Wildlife Agencies before returning to the DNR as deputy secretary.
Lubchenco, in announcing the appointment, said, “Eric will lead NOAA’s efforts to rebuild our fisheries and the jobs and livelihoods that depend on them.”
She added, “His immediate priorities include improving outreach and relationships with recreational and commercial fishermen, better aligning federal and regional fisheries priorities, restoring confidence in fisheries law enforcement, and promoting management approaches that will achieve both sustainable fisheries and vibrant coastal communities.”
Mid-Atlantic, ASMFC
Schwaab is better known in the Mid-Atlantic than in northern states. He was Maryland’s state representative to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council from 2000 to 2002.
While a council member, he helped develop several fishery management plans, amendments, and/or framework adjustments, including ones for: tilefish; mackerel, squid, and butterfish; summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass; and surf clams and ocean quahogs.
Schwaab’s real strengths, however, are reportedly in state issues, which should come as no surprise given his long tenure with the Maryland DNR.
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), an affiliation of Atlantic seaboard states, was quick to applaud Schwaab’s appointment. Schwaab served as an ASMFC commissioner during his time as head of Maryland’s Marine Fisheries Service.
In a Feb. 12 statement, ASMFC Chairman Robert Boyles Jr. said, “We are excited about working with Eric and NMFS to further strengthen our state/federal partnership. And we are firmly committed to helping him advance our shared goal of healthy and sustainable fisheries.”
ASMFC Executive Director Vince O’Shea added that, as an ASMFC commissioner, “Eric earned the respect of his fellow commissioners for his innovative thinking and strong consensus building.”
Also on the marine end, Schwaab served as a member of the federal Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, known as MAFAC, which advises the secretary of commerce on nationwide policy and marine resource issues.
New England reaction
In New England, news of Schwaab’s appointment led to two immediate responses.
The first was bewilderment, with many asking, “Who is this guy?”
The second, especially among those who had strongly supported the candidacy of Brian Rothschild, was disappointment. Rothschild, a long-time scientist at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology who is well recognized for his staunch support of cooperative research, was heavily favored among New Bedford fishermen and others in the region.
While many were quick to criticize Schwaab’s relative lack of marine fisheries experience, others wondered whether it might be beneficial to have the new NMFS director come on board with a clean slate.
Schwaab himself admitted he’ll need to get up to speed on a number of subjects.
Speaking during the “Saving Seafood Hour” on “Morning Magazine with Phil Paleologos,” a radio program that airs on WBSM in New Bedford and is hosted by Paleologos and Saving Seafood Executive Director Bob Vanasse, Schwaab affably answered questions about his experience – and inexperience – in a general way.
“There’s much for me to learn,” he said. “I’ll be getting out to local communities, meeting people. This is an important time for fisheries around the country. We have a lot to do.” /cfn/
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