September 26, 2023 — The New England Fishery Management Council has elected Eric Reid as chair and Rick Bellavance as vice chair, returning the two Rhode Islanders as officers for the third year in a row during the Sept. 25-28 meeting week in Plymouth, Mass.
New member Jackie Odell of Massachusetts was appointed to her first three-year term on the council as an at-large member. Three current council members were reappointed to new three-year terms: John Pappalardo of Massachusetts, Daniel Salerno of New Hampshire and Alan Tracy of Maine.
Re-elected to the chair, Eric Reid is a fisheries consultant based in North Kingstown, R.I., with a 54-year career in commercial and recreational fisheries. He also serves as the New England council’s liaison to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, as U.S. commissioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and representing Rhode Island at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.