DURHAM, N.H. - Prof. David Watters has been appointed by Gov. John Lynch to serve as a commissioner on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Watters is a professor of English at the University of New Hampshire, director of the Center for New England Culture, and is a second-term state representative for Strafford District 4, Dover. As a member of the Fish and Game and Marine Resources Committee in the NH Legislature, he will work to present the New Hampshire position on matters before the commission.

Established in 1942 by the 15 Atlantic coast states, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission conserves and manages near-shore fisheries for sustainable use. The commission vision is healthy, self-sustaining populations for all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015. 

In his legislative work, Watters cosponsored the bill in 2009 creating a saltwater fishing registry and he has supported legislation for better management of marine resources to benefit commercial and recreational fisheries.

The University of New Hampshire, founded in 1866, is a world-class public research university with the feel of a New England liberal arts college. A land, sea, and space-grant university, UNH is the state's flagship public institution, enrolling 12,200 undergraduate and 2,300 graduate students.

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