Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA's consultant to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council, is a 25-year veteran of marine fisheries management and research. His background in fish population dynamics gives CCA an expert capable of working in the management process from the initial stock assessment through final regulatory action by the Council.

Nelson has a doctorate in Marine Fisheries Ecology from North Carolina State University and served as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries Service until he became the chief scientist and then executive director of Florida's fledgling Marine Fisheries Commission in 1986. During his tenure, tough legal and political battles with commercial interests did not keep Florida from enacting sweeping conservation-based regulations to protect and restore previously overfished stocks of red drum, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel, spotted seatrout, snook, tarpon, snappers, groupers, and bonefish. In the 1990s, Florida led the nation in implementing requirements for sea turtle and finfish bycatch reduction devices in shrimp trawls.

Nelson spent 14 years as a member of both the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils and has more than 15 years of experience with the U.S. Advisory Council and delegation to the International Committee for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. He has worked on the development of management plans for more than 300 species of marine life at the state, national and international levels.

In 2000, Nelson founded an international fisheries consulting group specializing in conservation science and advocacy for recreational fishing interests. In addition to his work with CCA, he has led conservation efforts for The Billfish Foundation and organizations on the U.S. West Coast as well as in Mexico, Central America and Australia.