BRONZE MEDAL

The Bronze Medal is the highest honor award that can be granted by the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere.  Winners are recognized annually at a formal ceremony held in the fall in the Washington Metropolitan area.  The medals are awarded to individuals, groups (or teams), and organizations. 

2007

Deborah R. Hart

For significant advances in the theory of rotational area fisheries and leadership in its application to Atlantic sea scallop assessment and management.

Joseph M. Godlewski

For the development and successful deployment of a fiberoptic towed body package capable of housing and deploying a variety of oceanographic, acoustic, and video packages.

Erin E. Kupcha, Holly M. McBride, Otis L. Jackson, Barbara M. North

For the development of an at-sea electronic entry system for fisheries observer data, including concept design, testing, and final implementation.

2006

Loretta O'Brien

For research on the reproductive potential of finfish, specifically the effects of stock demographics and environmental factors

Jack Moakley

For developing and implementing the electronic Annual Operating Plan system for budgeting and performance planning, tracking, and reporting for PPBES

Steve Fromm, Suellen Fromm, Dave Packer, Jeff Pessutti, Donna Johnson, Dave Chevrier, Greg Lough, Jose Pereira, and Lisa Hendrickson

For the expeditious review and revision of over thirty species documents for the designation of Essential Fish Habitat by the Fishery Management Councils

Michael Tork, Timothy Sheehan

For voluntary service provided during FEMA post-disaster relief operations after multiple hurricane strikes in 2005

2005

Mark Berman

For conceiving, developing, and implementing the first undulating towed body with the capacity for rapidly measuring ocean productivity at minimal operational cost.

William Overholtz

For leadership in providing training for fishermen and interested lay people in fishery assessment science as the basis for managing fisheries.

Amy Van Atten, Patricia Yoos, Gina Shield, Joseph Mello, Sara Quinn, Mary Woodruff, and David Potter

For the fivefold expansion of the New England fisheries observer program in less than two years, under complex data quality and legal requirements.

Lee Benaka, Victoria Cornish Credle, Jonathan Cusick, Tanya Dobrzynski, Michael Fogarty, James Nance, Joseph Powers, Joseph Terry, and Svein Fougner

For contributions in designing a national approach to bycatch reporting methodologies which assist the Department in fulfilling its statutory obligations.

John Burnett, Elizabeth O'Neill, Sarah Pregracke, and Sandra Sutherland

For the tenfold expansion of an annual production of sectioned otolith production which improves data quality and quantity for fish stock assessments.

Linda Despres, Lawrence Brady, Kevin McIntosh, William Kramer, and Stacy Rowe

For creating a streamlined data quality assurance process for resource survey data on forty stocks of commercial and recreational marine finfish and invertebrates.

Mary Fabrizio, Beth Phelan-Hill, John Manderson, and Jeffrey Pessutti

For using state-of-the-art ultrasonic tagging technology to elucidate the effects of contaminants on fish.

Nancy McHugh, Paul Kostovick, Chris Pickett, and Victor Simon

For implementing portable data acquisitions systems that coordinate logging of vessel and biological data collected during Cooperative Research Surveys.

Northeast Regional Office, Fisheries Statistics Office, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Data Management Systems, and Northeast Regional Office, Port Agents

For creating and executing an electronic seafood dealer reporting system on fish landings which eases the reporting burden for dealers and allows for the more effective management of quotas.

 

2004

Thomas Warren, George Darcy, Susan Murphy, Jon Brodziak, Eric Thunberg, John Walden, Catherine Belli, Mark Millikin, Gene Martin, and Mark Hodor

For the successful and timely completion of Amendment 13 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

 

2003

Kevin Friedland

For understanding and elucidating the effect of thermal habitat windows on the ocean growth and survival of salmon in the North Atlantic.

Jon Brodziak, Christopher Legault, Ralph Mayo, Paul Rago, Colleen Close, Steven Cadrin, and Steven Murawski

For scientific advances in restoring New England groundfish stocks via population dynamics research and management advisory services.

Frank Almeida, John Boreman, Jr., Russell Brown, Charles Byrne, Michael Fogarty, Teri Frady, Wendy Gabriel, John Galbraith, Henry Milliken, and Fredric Serchuk

For developing a problem-solving methodology that stands as a model for working cooperatively to resolve issues that jeopardize sound fishery management.

William Bradley, Garry Frizzell, Roland Tanner, Joan Palmer, Susan Molina, John Reed, Gerald Hornof, Robert Bistodeau, Marianne Tomita, Alicia Matter, William Fleek, and Gary Shaw

For significantly improving federal communications and information technology through the development and implementation of the NOAA Fisheries Virtual Private Network.

2002

Paul Rago

For innovative research involving the use of commercial fishing vessels and fisherman's knowledge in the development of joint data collection programs.

Mary Colligan, John Kenney, Jr., Teresa Rowles, Janet Whaley, Teri Frady, Patricia Gerrior, Dana Hartley

2001

Linda I. Despres, John K. Galbraith, David Hiltz, William P. Kramer, Holly M. McBride, Nancy J. McHugh, Victor A. Nordahl, and Douglas A. Perry

For developing, testing and implementing a new automated data acquisition system for NMFS fishery research vessels

2000

Lawrence J. Buckley

For creativity and innovation in using molecular techniques in fish physiology and the sequencing of the cod genome.

Peter W. Christopher, Hannah F. Goodale, Jason Link, Joel G. MacDonald, Richard A. Pearson, Paul J. Rago, Katherine A. Sosebee, Scott Steinbeck, and Julie Williams

For the rapid development and implementation of the controversial Spiny Dogfish Fishery Management Plan.

James Meehan, John Hotaling, John Everett, Bonnie Ponwith, Richard Brown, CDR Gary Bulmer, John Walter, Hannah Davis, Charles Byrne, and Daniel Twohig

For engineering achievement and leadership in design and planning for a new fleet of state-of-the-art fisheries research vessels.

1999

Jonathan M. Kurland, Lee R. Crockett, James P. Burgess, III, Tracy K. Collier, Jeffrey N. Cross, Jane S. Hannuksela, Cindy A. Hartmann, Mark Helvey, Ronald Hill, Thomas J. Minello, Ramona A. Schreiber and Susan-Marie Stedman

For developing a national regulatory program to describe, identify, conserve and enhance EFH as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Act.

Peter L. Berrien

For development and utilization of egg survey data to assess spawning stock abundance and for improvement of forecast capabilities of fish populations in the northeast Continental shelf ecosystem.

James C. Widman, Joseph Choromanski, Ronald Goldberg, Barry C. Smith, and Gary Wikfors

For design, development and application of an integrated microalgal, recirculating-water shellfish nursery and wastewater treatment system for aquaculture.

P. Michael Payne, Laurie K. Allen, Debra L. Palka, David C. Potter, John B. Walden, and Donna S. Wieting

For exemplary efforts to conserve strategic stocks of harbor porpoise in the Gulf of Main and the mid-Atlantic.

Mark Terceiro

For development of improved stock assessments and predictions of summer flounder and groundfish and contributions to peer reviews of stock assessments conducted by the National Academy of Sciences.

Frank Almeida, Thomas Azarovitz, Daryl Christensen, Wendy Gabriel, David Gouveia, Charles Keith, Steven Murawski, Susan Murphy, Paul Rago, Kathi Rodrigues, and Patricia Yoos

For the rapid and successful implementation of a fishery management program of principal importance to the Agency.

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