Joe Arceneaux, BSJoe Arceneaux began working with MRAG Americas in early 2024 as a contract CoC Auditor. Later that year, he joined our Monitoring Division as Coordinator of the Part Time Observer Program (PTOP) within the Longline Transhipment Observer Program (LTOP). Joe will assist Bryan Belay in coordinating and debriefing the International Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) observers. He will manage communications and coordinate travel for the observers and supply documentation to the IATTC. Joe was a resident of Hawaii for 30 years where he was a trainer at the Hawaii Longline Observer Program at the Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO). He wrote and developed species identification guides for fish, sharks, sea turtles and small cetaceans used to manage pelagic longline fisheries across the Pacific and eastern Asia. He held a marine safety instructor certificate from 2003-2023 and designed and conducted IATTC observer training classes for national programs and throughout the Pacific Island nations. Additionally, he led debriefings of observers who disembarked vessels from the Pacific Ocean. His knowledge and expertise within the programs will add efficiency to our operations.
Joe was a Peace Corps volunteer in Zaire (now Dem. Republic of Congo) from 1988 to 1990. He attended Auburn University and received a BS in Fisheries Management & Aquaculture. After living in Hawaii for the past 30 years, Joe and his wife relocated to northern Florida. They are slowly acclimating to Florida fauna and fishing. Their senior dog, Bella (a Schnoodle) lives with them on their homestead in the north Florida pine forest.
