THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

                           PRESIDENT CLINTON 
              NAMES STEVEN PENNOYER AS U.S. COMMISSIONER 
            OF THE INTERNATIONAL PACIFIC HALIBUT COMMISSION

The President today announced his intent to appoint Steven Pennoyer as U.S. Commissioner of the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

Mr. Steven Pennoyer, of Juneau, Alaska, is currently one of the three U.S. Commissioners to the International Pacific Halibut Commission. In addition to serving as Commissioner, he is the Regional Administrator in Alaska for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), where he has served for the last nine years. In this capacity, he manages the largest groundfish fishery in the United States, accounting for 46 percent of the total U.S. catch by weight and representing 18.5 percent of the value of the catch off U.S. shores. Prior to this, he has served as a Fisheries Management biologist, a Fisheries Research supervisor, a Chief Research Scientist, a Director of Commercial Fisheries and a Deputy Commissioner.

Mr. Pennoyer earned a B.A. degree in Wildlife Conservation from the University of California at Berkeley in 1958.

The purpose of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is to conserve, manage, and rebuild the halibut stocks in the Convention Area to those levels which would achieve and maintain the maximum sustainable yield from the fishery. The United States is represented on the IPHC by three Commissioners, appointed by the President who serve for a term of two years. Convention Area waters are defined as the waters off the west coasts of Canada and the United States, including the southern as well as the western coasts of Alaska, within the respective maritime areas in which either Party exercises exclusive fisheries jurisdiction.

30-30-30