The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) announced the appointment of Bonnie Brady as policy director and Jason Joyce as director of advocacy, filling two leadership roles focused on policy development and industry representation.
NEFSA is a bipartisan nonprofit that represents New England wild-harvest fishermen and works to inform public policy and public understanding on fisheries management, conservation practices, economic viability, ecosystem sustainability, and U.S. food security.
According to the association, the new appointments are intended to strengthen the organization’s work on issues affecting fishermen and coastal communities, including fisheries management, regulatory policy, sustainability, and offshore wind development.
Brady has served as executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association since its founding in 2001. In that role, she has worked with policymakers and the public on issues related to the commercial fishing industry and seafood markets, and has represented industry interests at the local, state, and federal levels.
She serves on six advisory panels across the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils, providing input on fisheries management from both at-sea and shoreside perspectives. Brady is also a founding board member of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and a board member of Protect Our Coast–New Jersey. She was named one of National Fisherman’s Highliners of the Year in 2020.
Her background includes work for U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley in Washington, D.C., service as a Peace Corps health volunteer in Cameroon, and experience as a print reporter. Brady lives in Montauk, N.Y., with her husband, commercial fisherman Dave Aripotch, and their two daughters.
Joyce is an eighth-generation commercial fisherman from Swan’s Island, Maine, and a U.S. Coast Guard–licensed captain. He has more than 40 years of experience in the fishing industry, including groundfishing, urchining, scalloping, shrimping, and lobstering, which has been his primary occupation.
He is serving a fourth term as a Swan’s Island town selectman and represents fishermen on the Zone B Lobster Council and the Maine Department of Marine Resources Lobster Advisory Council. Joyce resigned from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association board in November 2025 after 23 years of service.
Joyce is married and has four children and six grandchildren. NEFSA said his role as director of advocacy will focus on representing fishermen’s interests and supporting opportunities for future generations in New England’s fishing communities.
