David Witherell, the longest-serving staffer of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, has announced plans to retire as executive director of the council at the end of October.
Witherell joined the council in 1992, under the leadership of then executive director Clarence Pautzke, transitioning from being a resource assessment biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.
A decision on who will be the new executive director of the council is anticipated over the next two months.
Angel Drobnica, the current council chair, praised Witherell’s leadership over 18 years and his contributions for the region to national level discussions.
“His depth of knowledge and experience has been invaluable in addressing the various and unprecedented challenges faced by the council,” she said.
Witherell spent his first 10 years on the council as an analyst working on plan and regulatory amendments covering bycatch reduction, habitat conservation, Steller sea lion protection and ecosystem-based management issues. He also served as a plan coordinator for the Bering Sea /Aleutian Islands groundfish, crab and scallop fishery management plans, and served as staff to several council committees, including ecosystem, crab rebuilding, Steller sea lion mitigation and essential fish habitat.
He was promoted to deputy director in 2002. There he was responsible for day-to-day supervision of staff, reviewing analytical documents and coordinating agendas and schedules with the council’s scientific and statistical committee, an advisory panel, as well as council leadership and National Marine Fisheries Service staff. He assisted in planning and implementation of the first two Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries conferences and served as editor for the proceedings.
In June of 2017 Witherell was named executive director of the council, filling the vacancy left by the departure of Chris Oliver to become the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries.
Under his leadership Witherell initiated a relocation of the council office and oversaw changes in council work necessitated by the COVID-19 pandemic. He participated in the Council Coordination Committee, which includes leadership from all eight of the nation’s regional fishery management councils and served as staff for the council’s executive/finance and legislative committees.
Witherell said working for the council had proven an extremely rewarding experience, and a privilege to work with council members and their advisory bodies, for which he is truly grateful.
