Chairman Wise opened the meeting at 2:05 p.m. Gordon Colvin of the DEC Bureau of Marine Resources introduced Lynette Stark. Ms. Stark is the newly-appointed Deputy Commissioner for Natural Resources for DEC. The Councilors introduced themselves and welcomed Ms. Stark. Ms. Stark stated that she was looking forward to working with the Council and said that the Council’s opinions were valued by the Department on all marine issues. She anticipates many more years of continued collaboration between the Council and the Department.