Williams, who was elected to the board in the spring, says the BBRSDA's vision will remain the same.
The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association has a new board president. Abe Williams, who was elected to the board last spring, was selected as president in September.
“There was just a slight change in the board of directors," said Williams Monday. "I can’t discuss the details about it, but it is what it is and we’re moving forward.”
The board elected Buck Gibbons as president in June; Gibbons did not immediately respond to KDLG News regarding the change.
Williams fishes the F/V Crimson Fury, and is president of Nuna Resources. Nuna is a nonprofit that supports sustainable resource development in rural Alaska, including calling for what he says is due process for the proposed Pebble Mine project.
The BBRSDA has long opposed the development of large-scale mining in the Bristol Bay watershed.
Williams says the vision for BBRSDA will remain focused on marketing and quality now, as Gibbons had said it would in June.
“I think the organization has a pretty solid strategic plan or vision that it would like to achieve," he said, "and we spent some time here over the past week putting together some committees that are going to help us get to those goals and I’m pretty excited about it.”
Williams says the organization is still working on hiring a new executive director. Sue Aspelund announced her retirement in April, but Williams says she’ll continue working with BBRSDA until the position is filled.
The BBRSDA is funded by a one percent tax on drift fishermen.