Dewey Hemilright
Experience:
Dewey Hemilright has been actively involved in both commercial fishing and fisheries advocacy for over 30 years. Throughout his career, he has fished using a variety of gears, including pelagic and bottom longline, bandit and snapper-grouper, gillnet, hook-and-line, and greenstick gear.
He served 11 years on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, completing his term in August 2023. Since 2019, he has served on the U.S. International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) Advisory Committee and as part of the U.S. delegation to ICCAT.
Fisheries Management Philosophy:
As a commercial fisherman, Dewey believes that harvesting fish provides the public with access to fresh, high-quality domestic seafood. With that opportunity comes the responsibility to ensure a sustainable resource.
Dewey believes that maintaining sustainability has become increasingly difficult due in part to the lack of reliable harvest and discard data among open-access users. He emphasizes the need to close this data gap to help secure the future of sustainable fisheries in the South Atlantic.