Statement: Group Praises New Director of NC Fisheries Division

CONTACT: Dan Whittle, Senior Attorney, 919-931-9677

(Raleigh, NC - January 22, 2007) Dr. Louis Daniel has been named director of the NC Division of Marine Fisheries. The following statement may be attributed to Dan Whittle, senior attorney for Environmental Defense and director of the organization’s Southeast oceans program:

“Environmental Defense commends Governor Mike Easley for naming Louis Daniel director of the NC Division of Marine Fisheries. Louis is an excellent scientist and skillful at bringing all parties to the table for negotiations. His leadership will be critical in helping the state address major issues facing our oceans and coastal region — overfishing, threats to fish habitats, and the loss of working waterfronts as fishing communities increasingly are displaced by development.”