Board of Directors
Our Staff
Our Members
Our Contact Info
Board of Directors
The MCA Board is made up of ten different seats, each representing a segment of the North Pacific and Bering Sea fishing industry. As MCA works on issues that are common to our members, we strive for consensus before taking a position on any policy matters. In the absence of a consensus, our bylaws require a super-majority vote representing 75% of present Board members. Our Board of Directors and members are active in many issues and routinely form sub-committees to guide research or to develop position statements as issues arise. Our executive committee typically serves two year terms.
| Sector | Board Member |
Alternate | Representing |
| Gulf of Alaska shoreside trawl catcher vessels and processors | President Julie Bonney | Bob Krueger | Alaska Groundfish Databank & Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association |
| Bering Sea Shoreside Catcher Vessels | Vice President Brent Paine | Bob Dooley | United Catcher Boats |
| Pacific Seafood Processors Association | Secretary Glenn Reed | Vince O’Shea | Pacific Seafood Processors Association |
| Alaska Community | Treasurer Frank Kelty | Shirley Marquardt | City of Unalaska |
| Shoreside Processors | Kris Norosz |
Mike Okoniewski | Icicle Seafoods
Pacific Seafood |
| Community Development Quota Program | Anne Vanderhoeven | Aggie Fouts |
Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation
Western Alaska Community Development Association |
| Bering Sea Crabbers | Mark Gleason | Ruth Christiansen | Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers |
| Alaska Scallop | Jim Stone | Alaska Scallop Association | |
| Groundfish Catcher Processor | John Gauvin | Jason Anderson | Groundfish Forum |
| Cod Fixed Gear | Vacant | Vacant | Alaska Longline Company |
| Pollock Catcher Processors | Donna Parker | Jim Johnson | Arctic Storm Management Group
Glacier Fish Company |
Our Staff
Merrick Burden, Executive Director: Merrick has a long and diverse history in fisheries issues. His foray into fisheries started as a crewmember, where he worked on salmon and halibut commercial fishing vessels in southcentral and southwest Alaska. After receiving his college degrees, he spent several years as an analyst with the National Marine Fisheries Service where he received numerous awards for his work on protecting Essential Fish Habitat, for developing plans to rebuild overfished stocks, and for developing tools to help manage bycatch. From there he transitioned to staff at the Pacific Fishery Management Council where he was the lead analyst on the Pacific groundfish trawl rationalization program – a program widely viewed as one of the most comprehensive and sophisticated such programs in the U.S. After his work with the PFMC he spent a brief amount of time working with the Environmental Defense Fund, where he helped to pioneer a unique model of fishery collectives for bycatch management and advocated for policies which would help provide support for west coast fishing communities.
Stephanie Dunlap, Administrative Assistant: Stephanie’s passion for fish started when she attended college. She spent her internship with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration researching Walleye pollock fish stomach contents and participating on trawl surveys in the Gulf of Alaska. After graduating from college, she worked as a scientific technician for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife collecting biological and catch data on local sturgeon and salmon fisheries. She then spent time as an observer on commercial fishing vessels in the Bering Sea, working on a trawler, longliner, and floater processor. Stephanie gained valuable office experience at several positions, but most notably at her most recent position with the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust. She was Office Manager and Greenway 365 Event Coordinator, responsible for organizing various annual events, as well as keeping the day-to-day affairs of the office running smoothly.
Our Members
The work we do would not be possible without the generous support of our invaluable members.
| Adak Community Development Corporation |
| Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers |
| Alaska Longline Co. |
| Alaska Whitefish Trawlers Association |
| Alaska Groundfish Data Bank International Seafoods of Alaska, North Pacific Seafoods, Trident Seafoods, Western Alaska Fisheries |
| Alaska Scallop Association |
| Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association Akutan, Atka, False Pass, Nelson Lagoon, Nikolski, St. George |
| Arctic Storm Management Group |
| Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation Aleknagik, Clark’s Point, Dillingham, Egegik, Ekuk, Ekwok, King Salmon, Levelock, Manokotak, Naknek, Pilot Point, Port Heiden, Portage Creek, South Naknek, Togiak, Twin Hills, Ugashik |
| Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association St. Paul |
| City of Unalaska |
| Glacier Fish Company |
| Groundfish Forum Fishermen’s Finest, Iquique US, Ocean Peace, O’Hara Corporation, United States Seafoods |
| High Seas Catchers Vessels Ocean Harvester, Sea Storm, Neahkahnie |
| Icicle Seafoods |
| Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation Brevig Mission, Diomede, Elim, Gambell, Golovin, Koyuk, Nome, Saint Michael, Savoonga, Shaktoolik, Stebbins, Teller, Unalakleet, Wales, White Mountain |
| Pacific Seafood Group |
| Pacific Seafood Processors Association Alaska General Seafoods, Alyeska Seafoods, Golden Alaska Seafoods, North Pacific Seafoods, Peter Pan Seafoods, Phoenix Processor Limited Partnership, Trident Seafoods, UniSea, Westward Seafoods |
| United Catcher Boats Akutan Catcher Vessel Association, Mothership Fleet Cooperative, Northern Victor Fleet Cooperative, Peter Pan Fleet Cooperative, Unalaska Fleet Cooperative, Unisea Fleet Cooperative, Westward Fleet Cooperative |
Our Contact Info
Marine Conservation Alliance
4005 20th Avenue W, Suite 115
Seattle, WA 98199
(206) 535-8357
(206) 260-3639 (fax)
| Merrick Burden, Executive Director | merrickbmca (at) gmail (dot) com |
| Stephanie Dunlap, Administrative Assistant | stephaniedmca (at) gmail (dot) com |