Fishing council taps Ogg as CEO

Alex Ogg has been appointed chief executive of the Western Australian Fishing Industry Council Inc, after serving in the role on an interim basis since May.

Mr Ogg sits on the board on the WA Research Advisory Committee, and has previously held management roles at pearling companies in Broome and Fremantle.

Prior to his interim chief executive role, Mr Ogg was the operations manager of WAFIC since May 2014.

WAFIC chairman Ron Edwards said Western Australia’s billion dollar commercial fishing, pearling and aquaculture sectors faced a range of challenges, which Mr Ogg was well equipped to handle.

“Alex has the practical knowledge, passion and strategic vision to lead our industry at this important time,” he said.

“He is commercially astute, widely respected and highly qualified and comes to the role with an impressive track record of success in our industry.”

Mr Edwards said Mr Ogg had brokered several important cross-industry agreements for WAFIC and supported the creation of Southern Seafood Producers WA, which is a collaboration between members from 21 different fisheries.

Mr Ogg said he was looking forward to working with industry members to promote the substantial social and economic value of WA’s commercial fisheries and to secure ongoing access to these renewable resources.

“WA seafood producers are global leaders when it comes to sustainable, responsible stewardship of our oceans' renewable bounty,” he said.

“We will work hard to establish a vision for a shared resource with the recreational fishing sector to ensure all Western Australians are able to access and enjoy our incredibly diverse range of fisheries, up and down our vast coastline.”

In coming months, WAFIC said Mr Ogg would visit coastal communities to hear directly from members to ensure the priorities of local fishers are understood and represented.