ILWACO — Christa Svensson, fleet manager at Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish Company/Alber Seafoods since last year, was sworn in last week as a member of the regional Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The PFMC directs NOAA Fisheries on the management of federal West Coast fisheries. Svensson was appointed by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on June 27, and took her oath of office as the PFMC began their meeting in Seattle on Sept. 7.

Svensson, who lives in Astoria, was appointed as an obligatory member from Oregon, with her first term lasting until Aug. 10, 2021.

In additional to working with fishermen, she serves as vice president of the Albacore Fisherman’s Research Foundation, and on the board of the REALOregon, Resource Education and Agricultural Leadership Program. She is a 2006 graduate of the National Fisheries Institute’s Future Leader program and a 2016 IntraFish media Top 40 under 40.

Before joining IFCO/Alber Seafood, she worked for 12 years at Bornstein Seafoods in international sales, sustainability and marketing. Svensson worked for 18 months for National Seafood Educators where she researched recipe ideas, taught cooking classes nationally, and sold thousands of seafood cookbooks. She fished professionally for salmon, halibut and sablefish in Alaska for seven years while paying for undergrad and graduate school. She attended Oregon State University earning an honors bachelors of arts in anthropology. In 2003, she earned a masters of arts in museology from the University of Washington with a focus on fundraising and development.