Work

Dave joined Environmental Defense Fund in 2008 as the Senior Conservation Manager for the Gulf of Mexico Region. He helps lead efforts to advance incentive-based fisheries in the commercial and recreational fishing sectors in the Gulf of Mexico.

Background

Dave has nearly 30 years of experience in the governance of state and federal fisheries. For the past decade he has worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Law Enforcement in the Southeast Region focusing exclusively on the management and monitoring of the Gulf of Mexico federal fisheries.

In this position he played an integral role in many milestones:

• Application of the vessel monitoring system in the commercial reef fish fishery;
• Design and implementation of the red snapper catch share program;
• Development of the pending grouper complex catch share program.

His first exposure to catch share management came when he was tapped by the Office of Law Enforcement as a special agent in Alaska to design the enforcement component of the incentive-based halibut and sablefish fishery management plan.

In 2008, he was appointed by Texas Governor Rick Perry to represent Texas on the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission. He also serves on several advisory panels for the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council.

Dave is a contributing author to the two Limited Access Privilege Program management guides developed by the National Marine Fisheries Service and has written numerous reports on the internal management components, communication requirements and real-time data-gathering systems in catch-share programs.