Working Group

The Working Group serves the Gulf of Maine Council by working with Council members to develop and implement a 5-year Action Plan and shorter term work plans for GOMC initiatives. The Working Group is made up of representatives of state and provincial governments of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts; US and Canadian federal agencies including Environment Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, U.S. Environment Protection Agency, National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration, and U.S. Department of Interior; and committee co-chairs. The Working Group meets regularly to promote bi-national and cross-jurisdictional efforts toward a healthy Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

Working Group Members

Working Group Co-Chairs (2024-2026)
Steve Couture, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
Marcel Belaval, U.S. Department of the Interior

Council Coordinator
Joan LeBlanc
jleblanc@gulfofmaine.org

Jurisdictional Representatives

Maine

Theresa Torrent, Maine Department of Marine Resources*
Theresa.Torrent@maine.gov

Massachusetts

Tyler Soleau, Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
tyler.soleau@mass.gov

Dan McKiernan, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
dan.mckiernan@mass.gov

New Brunswick

Alison Smith, New Brunswick Department of Environment and Local Government
Allison.Smith2@gnb.ca

New Hampshire

Steve Couture, New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
Steven.M.Couture@des.nh.gov

Nova Scotia

Nova Scotia Department of Intergovernmental Affairs

Federal Agencies Representatives

Glen Herbert, Fisheries and Oceans Canada*
glen.herbert@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Kate Swails, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Kate.Swails@noaa.gov

Environment and Climate Change Canada
(see below for ECCC Working Group members who are Committee Co-Chairs)

Lauren Tisdale, U.S. Environment Protection Agency
tisdale.lauren@epa.gov

Marcel Belaval, U.S. Department of the Interior
mbelaval@usgs.gov

Additional Working Group Members

Carolina Bastidas, MIT Sea Grant
bastidas@mit.edu

Demi Fox, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Marine Debris Co-Chair)
demi.fox@noaa.gov

Glen Herbert, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Co-Chair)
glen.herbert@dfo-mpo.gc.ca

Ellen Mecray, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Climate Network Co-Chair)
Ellen.l.Mecray@noaa.gov

Betsy Nicholson, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning Co-Chair)
Betsy.Nicholson@noaa.gov

Scott Weese, Environment and Climate Change Canada (Climate Network Co-Chair)
Scott.Weese@ec.gc.ca

Peter Wells, Bay of Fundy Ecosystem Partnership (Gulfwatch Co-Chair)
oceans2@ns.sympatico.ca

*Also hold a Committee Co-Chair position