Seafood Harvesters of America Applauds Appointment of Janet Coit to be NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 21, 2021

Media Contacts: Blake Androff, (202) 234-1224

                            Leigh Habegger, (703) 794-5114

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) announced the appointment of Janet Coit to be the next NMFS Assistant Administrator (NMFS AA). Coit was most recently the Director for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (RI DEM) where she led the department since 2011 and has worked in the environmental field for more than 25 years.

“Coit’s appointment as NMFS AA comes at a critical juncture as the Biden-Harris Administration seeks to scale-up offshore renewables and conserve marine biodiversity. Coit’s background working for the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, as well as her time serving as counsel and environmental coordinator for two RI senators, and as the state director for The Nature Conservancy provides her with a deep understanding of not only the fishing industry, but of the conservation of our marine environment at a large scale. She understands how to practically balance the needs of both and achieve that balance through the policy-making and regulatory processes. During her time at RI DEM, Coit has consistently and effectively engaged the commercial fishing industry and carefully balanced the needs of different stakeholder groups. We are very pleased to welcome her as the next NMFS AA and look forward to working with her during her tenure at the Agency.” – Leigh Habegger, Executive Director

“I have worked closely with Janet Coit for many years in Rhode Island and I am thrilled to see her expertise and skillful leadership recognized by this Administration. Janet will be a thoughtful and steady NMFS AA, carefully listening to stakeholders while keeping sound science, not politics, at the heart of the Agency. She won the respect of commercial fishing industry in Rhode Island, and I expect her to do the same as NMFS AA. I look forward to continuing to work with Janet.” – Chris Brown, President, RI fisherman

You can view a PDF of the statement here.