Over his 54-year career in commercial and recreational fisheries, Eric has been actively engaged in all facets of the industry. He first worked as a deckhand on for-hire vessels. He then became licensed and sailed as captain while attending the University of Rhode Island, where he graduated in 1981 with an A.S. degree in fisheries and marine technology. Next, he began working as a commercial fisherman – both on deck and at the helm – on bottom trawl and longline vessels operating out of ports in Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and New Jersey. After 10 years of experience on the water, he redirected his focus to shoreside processing.

Eric served as past president of both the Rhode Island Seafood Council and the American Seafood Institute. He was a founding member of the East Coast Fisheries Association, the New England Seafood Producers Association, and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance. Eric serves as the New England Council’s liaison to the Mid-Atlantic Council and represents the New England Council on several Mid-Atlantic Council committees. He also is a U.S. Commissioner to the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and serves as Rhode Island State Senator Susan Sosnowski’s proxy on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC).