JFM 2000 Quarterly Rpt. sidebar
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Jim
Balsiger Goes North
(Quarterly
Report for Jan-Feb-Mar 2000)
At
an all-hands meeting held 15 March 2000, Science
and Research Director Dr. James W. Balsiger
announced his appointment as Alaska Regional
Administrator effective 4 June 2000. In
affirming his acceptance of the appointment, Dr.
Balsiger addressed a near capacity crowd in the
auditorium of NOAA’s Western Regional Center in
Seattle. Dr. Balsiger spoke of his commitment to the
Alaska Center’s mission, the dedication of
its staff, and reflected briefly with both
warmth and humor on his nearly 25 years at the
Center.
Jim began his career with NMFS as a research
biometrician at the former Northwest and Alaska
Fisheries Center where he worked from 1972 to 1973.
In that position he was responsible for providing
analysis of the status of stocks of king and Tanner
crabs in the Bering Sea in support of U.S.
commitments to the International North Pacific
Fisheries Commission and U.S. negotiators in
bilateral fishing agreements with Japan and the
former Soviet Union. From 1973 to 1977 Jim worked as
an assistant professor in the Department of Forestry
at the University of Wisconsin teaching forest
biometrics and conducting research on forest and
forest insect population interactions, forest tree
distribution patterns, and forest sampling
methodology. In 1977, he returned to the Pacific
Northwest to serve in the Status of Stocks Task in
the AFSC’s Resource Ecology and Fisheries
Management (REFM) Division. As Program Leader from
1980 to 1991, he was responsible for developing the
status of stocks documents necessary for the
management of exploited groundfish species in the
North Pacific Ocean and eastern Bering Sea. He also
served as chairman of the plan team for the fishery
management plan for the Gulf of Alaska groundfish
fishery; alternate member of the Scientific and
Statistical Committee of the North Pacific Fishery
Management Council; and Center representative on the
working group providing oversight on the
reauthorization of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.
In 1991, Jim was appointed Deputy Director of
the AFSC. His responsibilities included assisting
the Center Director in the overall management,
planning, and evaluation of all phases of operations
of the Center, including the direction and
coordination of the efforts of a Center staff of 300
scientists and technical personnel involved in
Federal fisheries research in the coastal oceans off
Alaska and the west coast of the United States. As
Center Deputy Director he also served as vessel
coordinator for the AFSC.
Jim has served as Science and Research Director,
Alaska Region, since August 1996, having assumed the
responsibilities of Acting Director in January of
that year. During his tenure as Science Director he
has provided the direction and oversight of the
scientific support necessary for the management and
protection of the region’s living marine resources
and played a vital role in addressing the complex
issues surrounding Steller sea lion/fisheries
interactions. He has served as a member of the NMFS
Science Board, the NMFS Executive Board, the
North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES)
and as Acting Alaska Regional Administrator.
Jim was born in Black River Falls, Wisconsin. He
received his B.S. degree in Forestry from Michigan
Technological University in 1966, his M.S. degree in
Forest Silviculture from Purdue University in 1970,
and his Ph.D. in Quantitative Ecology and Natural
Resource Management from the University of
Washington in 1974. Jim is the author of more than
30 scientific publications. He is married and has
two sons who live in the Seattle metropolitan area.
By Susan Calderon.
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