The Marine Aquaculture Task Force
Richard Pittenger is chairman of the Marine Aquaculture Task Force. Dick
Pittenger retired in 2004 as Vice President for Marine Operations and Arctic
Research Coordinator for Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, where he
worked for 14 years, devising and carrying out a strategy to modernize its fleet of
research vessels and advancing the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles for
ocean science. Adm. Pittenger retired from the Navy as a Rear Admiral in 1990.
During his 32 years of service, he had a wide range of duties including command
of a mine sweeper in Vietnam and a destroyer squadron, Chief of Staff to the
U.S. Naval Forces in Europe, director of the Antisubmarine Warfare Division, and
Oceanographer of the Navy. He is a frequent lecturer at the Naval War College
and the Naval Postgraduate School, and has authored books on antisubmarine
warfare and articles on undersea acoustics, nautical charting and the naval
oceanography.
Bruce Anderson is president of the Oceanic Institute, a not-for-profit research
organization in Hawaii dedicated to sustainable aquaculture development,
improved coastal resource management, and marine science education. Dr.
Anderson has extensive experience in environmental management and public
health issues in Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. Before assuming the leadership
of the Oceanic Institute, Dr. Anderson was director of the Environmental Health
Program at the University of Hawaii School of Medicine. From 1999 through
2002, he was Director of Health for the State of Hawaii, and served as Deputy
Director for Environmental Health for the State from 1987 through 1998. He
holds a Ph.D. in biomedical sciences from the University of Hawaii and an M.P.H.
in epidemiology from Yale University.
Daniel Benetti is the Chairman of the Division of Marine Affairs and Policy at the
University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science,
where he is an Associate Professor and the Director of Aquaculture. He has over
25 years experience in aquaculture worldwide and has published numerous
articles in aquaculture science and technology. In addition to his academic
responsibilities, he carries out R&D and technology transfer projects for the
development of sustainable marine hatchery and offshore growout initiatives. He
has extensive experience with the industry and has been a consultant for the
private and government sectors in Latin America, U.S., Europe, Asia, Caribbean
and Australia. Coordinating the NOAA/NSG/NMAI effort in the SE US and the
Caribbean, he has partnered with the government and the industry to spearhead
advanced technology for hatchery and offshore aquaculture development in
these regions. He is the scientific coordinator of Snapperfarm’s and Aquasense’s
offshore aquaculture demonstration projects in Puerto Rico and the Bahamas.
Prior to joining the faculty of the University of Miami, he was a research scientist
at Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Ft. Pierce, Florida.
Paul Dayton is Professor of Oceanography at the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography. His research interests include benthic ecology, marine
conservation and policy, evolution and natural history. He is the author of
dozens of publications on topics ranging from kelp forest ecology, ecosystem
effects of fishing, to cetacean habitat selection. He teaches numerous courses
including natural history of coastal habitats, professional ethics in science,
advanced experimental methods and biological oceanography.
Bill Dewey is the public affairs manager for Washington State’s Taylor Shellfish
Company, one of the largest producers of farmed shellfish in the United States.
During more than 20 years as a shellfish farmer, Dewey has been active in
shaping environmental and regulatory public policy as it affects the shellfish
culture industry. He is president of the Pacific Shellfish Institute, serves on the
Board of Directors of the National Aquaculture Association and was recently
appointed by Washington’s Governor Gregoire to his third term on the Puget
Sound Council advising the State on conservation priorities for Puget Sound. He
recently served as a member of the National Academy of Science’s Committee
on Nonnative Oysters in the Chesapeake Bay and together with his wife Joyce,
owns and operates a clam farm in Samish Bay.
Rebecca Goldburg is a senior scientist at Environmental Defense, a national
nonprofit research and advocacy organization. Working from New York City,
Goldburg active in public policy issues concerning both marine and terrestrial
food production. Among her responsibilities, she leads Environmental Defense’s
work to increase demand for more sustainably produced seafood. She also
serves as an advisor to the Luce Foundation's Environment Program. An author
of numerous articles, Goldburg coauthored the Pew Oceans Commission's report
on marine aquaculture. Dr. Goldburg has an M.S. in Statistics, a Ph.D. in
Ecology, and an honorary Doctorate of Laws, all from the University of
Minnesota.
Alison Rieser is a professor of ocean and coastal law at the University of Maine
School of Law in Portland, Maine. In January, 2006, she joins the social
sciences faculty of the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She directed the
University of Maine’s Marine Law Institute from 1983 until 2001. Her research
interests include the use of property and rights-based concepts in ocean and
coastal management, ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, and the
role of science in marine legal regimes. In addition to her teaching duties,
Professor Rieser is a consultant to federal and state agencies and NGOs, and
has written and lectured extensively on coastal and ocean law. She is the coauthor of the leading casebook on ocean and coastal law and of numerous
articles on the management of marine fisheries, the regulation of aquaculture,
and the protection of endangered marine wildlife. Professor Rieser served on the
National Academy of Sciences Committee to Review Individual Fishing Quotas
and was selected as a Pew Fellow in Marine Conservation in 1999. She was a
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postdoctoral fellow in marine policy at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
and has law degrees from The George Washington University and Yale Law
School.
Byron Sher was elected to the California State Senate in 1996 in a special
election. He was subsequently re-elected to two four-year terms, and served as
the first chairman of the Senate Environmental Quality Committee. Mr. Sher
served for over 15 years in the State Assembly, where he chaired the Natural
Resources Committee and the Criminal Law and Public Safety Committees. He
served two terms as Mayor of Palo Alto during his nine years on the City Council.
Mr. Sher graduated from Harvard Law School and is Professor of Law Emeritus
at Stanford Law School. He held academic teaching positions at the law schools
of Harvard, Southern Methodist University and the University of Southern
California, as well as Stanford.
Arliss Sturgulewski was elected to serve on the Anchorage Charter Commission
and the Anchorage Assembly. She served in the Alaska State Senate from 1978
through 1992, when she chose not to stand for re-election. She was the Republican
candidate for governor of Alaska in 1986 and 1990. Senator Sturgulewski received
a BA in Economics and Business from the University of Washington. She received
an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Alaska, Anchorage. She
has served on many local municipal boards, including Planning and Zoning and the
Board of Examiners and Appeals. Ms. Sturgulewski gives frequent speeches on
issues dealing with equity and on education issues. She is a trustee for the
Anchorage YMCA, Sheldon Jackson College located in Sitka, Alaska, and the
University of Alaska Foundation. She serves on the Advisory Council for the
University of Alaska School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences and the University of
Alaska, Anchorage Chancellor’s Council as well as numerous other statewide
boards and commissions.
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