[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 12]
[Senate]
[Page 16675]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                   TRIBUTE TO VICE ADMIRAL RAY RIUTTA

 Mr. BEGICH. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize an 
Alaskan for his extraordinary 34 years of service to the United States 
Coast Guard and our Nation as well as 10 years of leadership within the 
Alaska seafood industry where he had a tremendous positive impact for 
our fishermen.
  Ray Riutta has held the position of executive director of the Alaska 
Seafood Marketing Institute, ASMI, since August 2002. Since then, he 
has guided the organization through pivotal changes, including the 
implementation of the sustainability platform to showcase Alaska's 
commitment to responsibly managed fisheries. ASMI has worked diligently 
to increase the economic value of Alaska seafood resources through a 
collaborative partnership with the seafood industry. Since Mr. Riutta's 
arrival in 2002, the value of Alaska seafood exports increased nearly 
23 percent from $1.78 billion to $2.2 billion in 2011.
  Prior to joining ASMI, Mr. Riutta served in the United States Coast 
Guard for 34 years, retiring at the rank of vice admiral. During his 
career, he served on six ships, commanding four of them with over 12 
years of sea service in the Bering Sea, Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as 
well as the Great Lakes and the Caribbean Sea. For 3 years he was 
assigned to the U.S. Embassy in London. While assigned to Coast Guard 
Headquarters in Washington, DC, Mr. Riutta was deputy chief of the 
Office of Law Enforcement and Defense Operations and later chief of 
operations.
  During his tenure as district commander for Alaska, Mr. Riutta served 
as a member of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. He 
worked closely with the Pacific Region Coast Guards, China, Japan, 
Korea, Canada and Russia, while in command of all U.S. Coast Guard 
forces in the Pacific, a post he held on September 11, 2001. Mr. Riutta 
is originally from Astoria, OR, where many members of his family were 
involved in the fishing industry. Prior to entering the service, he 
worked part time commercial fishing on the Columbia River.
  Mr. Riutta is a 1968 graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and a 
1990 graduate of the National War College. He is married to Barbara 
Starr Kramer of Chester Springs, PA. They have two sons, Ian and Aaron.
  On behalf of the State of Alaska, I ask my distinguished colleagues 
to join me in recognizing Vice Admiral Riutta's exceptional career. We 
owe him a debt of gratitude for his commitment to the Coast Guard, our 
Nation and Alaska's seafood industry. We wish him well in his 
retirement.

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