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Fitial nominates three to the monument advisory council
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Posted on Jan 19 2009
Gov. Benigno Fitial has submitted his three nominees to serve on the Marianas Monument Advisory Council.
In a letter to James Connaughton, chairman of the Committee on Environmental Quality, Fitial nominated Benigno Magofna Sablan, Joaquin P. Villagomez and Sylvan O. Igisomar.
“I am confident that all three of my appointees will serve honorably, responsibly and admirably in the Mariana Monument Advisory Council,” Fitial wrote. “They are truly champions of reasonable, practical and meaningful conservation efforts and practices, and they are committed to sustainable fishing.”
Sablan, a recreational fisherman, is a two-term Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council member currently serving his third term. He served three terms in the CNMI House of Representatives and is the former Secretary for the Department of Lands and Natural Resources. He is a licensed boat captain and a fisheries biologist.
Villagomez is the first chief of the CNMI Division of Fish and Wildlife, where he served for five years. He also served as the administrator of Coastal Resources Management for three years and was a member of WesPac’s Advisory Panel on coral reef ecosystems.
Fitial said Villagomez’s background gives him a true sense for conservation efforts.
“Because of his past position and rich experience in management, conservation, law enforcement and protection of fisheries and ocean resources, he is fully aware of the need to prevent overfishing, and to conserve marine resources so as not to deplete fish stocks by promoting scientifically determined sustainable fishing,” he said.
Igisomar, the current director of DPL’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, was recently appointed to serve as a commissioner for the Western & Central Pacific Fisheries Commission.
The Mariana Monument Advisory Council will provide advice and recommendations on the development of management plans and management of the monument. The other members on the council will include a representative from the Department of Defense and one from the Coast Guard. The nominees would serve for a three-year term.
