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2023 SESSION
WHEREAS, Michael J. Oesterling, who worked with state and federal officials in Virginia and Washington, D.C., to promote and advocate for the shellfish industry in the Commonwealth, will retire as the executive director of the Shellfish Growers of Virginia in June 2023 after 11 years of service; and
WHEREAS, Michael Oesterling holds degrees in biology from the University of Miami and zoology from the University of Florida; and
WHEREAS, since becoming the first executive director of the Shellfish Growers of Virginia in 2012, Michael Oesterling has also served as chair of the Virginia Marine Products Board, where he has presided over the marketing of Virginia’s seafood industry; and
WHEREAS, Michael Oesterling has provided knowledge and guidance while sitting on the Aquaculture Advisory Committee at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the Aquaculture Advisory Board at the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services; and
WHEREAS, at the national level, Michael Oesterling has enhanced the Commonwealth’s standing in the shellfish industry while serving on the National Aquaculture Association’s Marine Aquaculture Committee; and
WHEREAS, in 2008, Michael Oesterling co-authored the marine resource report “Best Management Practices for the Virginia Shellfish Culture Industry” for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at The College of William & Mary; and
WHEREAS, Michael Oesterling has served on several Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference committees and has been active at biennial meetings since 2013; and
WHEREAS, Michael Oesterling has promoted new and exciting concepts for the seafood industry through his service on the Fisheries Resources Grant committee at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science; and
WHEREAS, throughout his career, Michael Oesterling developed bipartisan consensus with legislators, nonprofit advocacy organizations, government organizations, shellfish farmers and farming interests, and other stakeholders in the passage of numerous pieces of natural resources legislation; and
WHEREAS, Michael Oesterling was part of the team that successfully initiated November as Virginia Oyster Month in November 2022; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend Michael J. Oesterling on the occasion of his retirement as executive director of the Shellfish Growers of Virginia; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Michael J. Oesterling as an expression of the General Assembly’s admiration for his achievements in the protection and advancement of the Commonwealth’s valuable shellfish industry.