Alaska Sea Grant director announces retirement

Submitted by Doug Schneider
Phone: 907-474-7449
05/21/08

Alaska Sea Grant Director Brian Allee announced his retirement from the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences effective May 30, 2008.

SFOS Dean Denis Wiesenburg appointed Paula Cullenberg, Alaska Sea Grant associate director and Marine Advisory Program leader, as interim director while UAF conducts a national search for Allee’s successor.

Allee served as the Alaska Sea Grant director for the past five years, leading the program through a strenuous federal review and state and federal budget declines.

"Brian has generously invested his talent, insight, creativity, and vision toward maximizing the productivity and contribution of Alaska Sea Grant," said Jeffrey Stephan, chair of the Alaska Sea Grant Advisory Committee and manager of Kodiak-based United Fishermen’s Marketing Association, Inc.

Under Brian’s leadership, Alaska Sea Grant was ranked as among the top programs in the national network of 30 Sea Grant programs. Allee established an effective advisory committee and launched several initiatives that deepened the program’s involvement in research, outreach, and education.

Allee led the program into new areas such as the Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation and Biology Program. Now in its second year, the university, industry, state and federal research partnership seeks to learn how to raise king crab in large-scale hatchery settings. The knowledge gained during the project is expected to help policy makers and fishery managers decide if hatcheries are feasible to rebuild collapsed red and king crab stocks in parts of the state.

Allee plans to return to his home in Oregon to be with his wife and continue consulting work on Columbia River salmon restoration issues.

For more information on Allee’s career at Alaska Sea Grant, visit the Alaska Sea Grant Web site.