Petersburg fisherman Arne Fuglvog, a fisheries aide to Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, is an apparent finalist in the competition to head the National Marine Fisheries Service.
Fuglvog, a fifth generation fisherman who has served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, has the endorsement of United Fishermen of Alaska, an umbrella group representing more than 30 fisheries groups active in the state.
The other apparent finalists are Brian Rothschild, a professor of marine science at the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, who has the backing of Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., and James Balsiger, NMFS acting administrator and former head of NOAA Fisheries in Alaska.