[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 188 (Thursday, November 29, 2018)]
[Senate]
[Page S7236]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO LARRY COTTER

 Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, today I wish to give special 
recognition to Lawrence P. Cotter on the occasion of his retirement. 
Larry is a great friend and dedicated Alaskan whose contributions to 
our State are significant and lasting, benefiting our State's fisheries 
and rural communities to this day and into the future.
  As a resident of Alaska for almost half a century, Larry's work has 
taken him from fish processing plants to the halls of our State capitol 
and beyond. After arriving in Alaska in 1974, he spent over 4 years as 
a seafood processing worker in Juneau and 8 years as a labor organizer 
and representative for processing workers and longshoremen.
  Larry shaped critical fisheries policy through his service on the 
advisory panel to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, of 
which he was a member for 6 years. This service was followed by an 
additional 6 years as a voting member on the Council during a critical 
time in the development of our Nation's domestic fisheries. Larry 
worked to ensure that foreign fishing in our exclusive economic zone 
was phased out and that our domestic fishing and processing 
capabilities were stepping up to replace the foreign fleets.
  This shift to an all-domestic fleet allowed the United States to 
finally harvest our fishery resources for the sole benefit of American 
fishermen and processors. It was also during this period that 
allocation issues among U.S. fisheries interests were first coming to 
the forefront. These were challenging and exciting times, during which 
Larry's leadership thrived. His legacy in Alaska fisheries cannot be 
overstated.
  Most recently, until late this year, Larry served as the founding CEO 
of the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association, or 
APICDA. As one of six community development quota organizations in 
western Alaska, APICDA has used the benefits of Bering Sea and Aleutian 
fishery resources to support its member communities in some of the most 
rural and remote parts of Alaska.
  In helping to develop, implement, and sustain the CDQ program, Larry 
did perhaps his best work, accomplishing goals that will have positive 
impacts on western Alaskan communities for generations to come. Larry's 
visionary work on the formation of Alaska's CDQ program has benefited 
all of the participating communities through workforce, infrastructure, 
and economic development.
  Many observers, myself included, have correctly noted that Alaska has 
the best managed fisheries in the country, and I know we could not have 
achieved this hard-earned status without Larry's tireless dedication to 
making our seafood industry truly sustainable.
  Thank you, Larry, for your tremendous contributions to sustainable 
fisheries and to the participation of our coastal communities in those 
fisheries. I wish you a restful retirement and the best of luck in your 
future endeavors.

                          ____________________