Terry Stockwell, the Maine Department of Marine Resources external affairs director, has been reelected as chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council.

The New England Fishery Management Council, one of eight regional councils established by federal legislation in 1976, is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from three to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut.

“This is a critically important role and Terry is exceptionally qualified to fill it,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “His background as a longtime fisherman and as a resource manager makes him uniquely qualified to address the complex issues impacting our region’s commercial fisheries and the people who rely on them.”

Stockwell has served as director of external affairs for the DMR for nine years and as the DMR Commissioner’s designee to the New England Fishery Management Council since 2006.

Prior to working for DMR, Stockwell was a commercial fisherman for over 20 years. He is associated with several Maine professional organizations, including the board of the Portland Fish Pier Authority. He and his wife, Lauren, live in Southport.

Before being hired as the director of external affairs, Stockwell served as a DMR Resource Management Coordinator, administering the lobster, sea urchin and scallop zone management programs. He has also been a member of the Atlantic Large Whale and Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Teams since their inception. 

Stockwell was initially elected as chairman of NEFMC in 2013 after serving as vice chairman for a year. Prior to that, he served as chairman of the NEFMC’s groundfish committee and on its executive committee.