Brett Tolley is the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance 19s community organizer. He comes from a four-generation commercial fishing family out of Cape Cod, MA. He has worked in the fishing industry hanging nets, crewing boats of various gear-types, and commercially shellfishing. Bret says that 1cLocal fishermen and fishing communities are disproportionately left out of the policy decisions that impact their lives. This undermines our coastal communities, the health of the ocean, access to healthy food, and ensuring a fair price to fishermen. 1d He envisions a future, where fishing families have a level playing field and are celebrated for their role in protecting the health of the ocean as well as their role in feeding people. The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance was born in 1995 by a group of fishermen and fishing community advocates to explore an alternative management structure. They believed there had to be a better approach to protecting our oceans and managing marine resources.