"This executive order circumvented the will of Congress (as expressed in the 1996 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established the fishery councils to manage the nation's fisheries)."

What are you thinking, leaving out the fishermen and the (national and regional Fisheries Management) councils?" Goethel asked. "This executive order circumvented the will of Congress (as expressed in the 1996 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established the fishery councils to manage the nation's fisheries)."

The failure of the executive order to include fishermen in the debate over how best to manage the nation's oceans was yet another example of the government's bias against those who earn their livings from the sea, Goethel said.

"From their experience, fishermen know that when they make comments (on ocean policy), they are not taken seriously or used to make the changes that are necessary," she told the NOC members and others Monday. "I see that 'top-down' (policy) doesn't work and what I see (with the strategic plans) is top-down policy."

John Williamson of Seakeepers Consulting in Kennebunk, Maine, supported Goethel's concerns about the inclusion of fishing interests on the council.

"There is a great gap in understanding in (the fishing industry) alone," Williamson said. "I'm not seeing a lot of attention being paid to the details of stakeholder engagement."