Reserve Advisory Council

Meeting information and materials. Click here

Council resolutions and letters. Click here

In managing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve, the Secretary of Commerce is directed to establish a Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Council, in accordance with the National Marine Sanctuaries Act. The role of the Council is to provide advice and recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the Department of Commerce on the Reserve Operations Plan, potential designation of the Reserve as a National Marine Sanctuary and management of the Reserve. The Council plays an important role in helping shape these initiatives, which will provide lasting protection to the marine resources within Reserve waters.

The Council operates under a charter developed by the National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP), which prescribes the frequency of meetings, objectives and roles, and operation of the Council. The Council was officially established on December 5, 2000, when the charter was signed. All travel costs to meeting locations for Council members will be paid by the NMSP. Council meetings will be open to the public.

The voting members of the Council (except for the State of Hawaii representative) were chosen through an open, competitive process held during December 2000 and January 2001. A call for applications was published in the Federal Register and posted on this website. Members were announced on January 29, 2001.

The following documents contain charter for the Council (Supplement 1), (the application kit (Supplement 2), communication protocols that all Council members will be expected to follow (Supplement 3) and contact and the Federal Register Notice (Supplement 4):

Supplement 1. Council Charter (amended 11/20/03)(PDF, 452 KB)

Supplement 2. Application for membership as a member or an alternate on the Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Council

Supplement 3: Communication Protocols

Supplement 4. Federal Register notice of call for the following seats: (1) Native Hawaiian (1) Conservation (1) Commercial Fishing (1) Research and (1) Ocean-related Tourism.

Reserve Council Membership

The Council has 15 voting members and 10 non-voting members. The members include the following:

Voting representatives
Native Hawaiian:	Louis Agard (elder)
	William Aila
	VACANT
Research:	Cynthia Hunter
	William Gilmartin
	Don Schug
Conservation:	Paul Achitoff
	Linda Paul
	Laura Thompson
Commercial Fishing:	Bob Gomes
Recreational Fishing:	Rick Gaffney
Ocean-Related Tourism:	VACANT
Education:	Gail Grabowsky
Citizen-At-Large:	Kem Lowry
State of Hawaii:	Timothy E. Johns
Non-voting representatives from the following agencies
Department of Defense
Department of the Interior
Department of State
Marine Mammal Commission
National Marine Fisheries Service
National Science Foundation
U.S. Coast Guard
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council
Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve
Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary

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