ELLEN Peel, the president and CEO of US-based The Billfish Foundation, has been named US Commissioner for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), by President Obama.
ICCAT is a 42-year old inter-governmental fishery organisation of some 50 member nations responsible for the conservation of tunas and migratory species like billfish and sharks in the Atlantic Ocean, and its adjacent seas like the Mediterranean and the Gulf of Mexico.
As Fisho reported earlier this year, Ms Peel and The Billfish Foundation had publicly opposed the closing of Australia’s Coral Sea to sportfishing.
Because of her passion and dedication to marine resources, Peel was asked in 2009 to serve as the Acting U.S. Recreational Fishing Commissioner to ICCAT, pending final approval by the President.
Peel said, “I’m very much honored to be appointed to serve for the White House in the Commissioner position. The challenges are great, but I am committed to advancing and defending the fishing opportunities for all U.S. fishing interests, including raising the priority of both the recreational fishing industry and the billfish species.”
Peel recently began her 16th year as the head of TBF, a post many in billfishing and marine conservation say was a position she was born for.
Now in its 26th year The Billfish Foundation works globally to advance the conservation of billfish and associated species and to improve the health of oceans and dependent economies. TBF’s website is billfish.org.
