If you're lucky enough to get to New England's shoreline this time of year, you're likely to see saltwater anglers casting into the surf for bluefish or striped bass. It's one of the most beautiful sights on a fall day.

NOAA's new administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, recognizes that saltwater anglers are a vast, diverse group of men and women of all ages who love our coasts and oceans and find great joy in spending time fishing on the water. This constituency of more than 15 million — an estimated 1.26 million in Massachusetts alone — should be natural stewards of our oceans.

As part of NOAA's new effort to reach out to anglers, build a stronger partnership, and address anglers' concerns, we will create a new senior position in NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service — a special advisor for recreational fisheries. NOAA is now seeking applications for this advisor who would work directly for the assistant administrator of the fisheries service, the position I hold.

I want to be sure that as many people as possible know that we're accepting applications until Nov. 13 for this important job. You can find the application online by going to http://www.usajobs.gov and typing into the search engine — NOAA Fisheries Program Specialist. I encourage you to take a look at the job announcement and share it with others who may be interested.

This senior advisor will work with people across the fisheries service to make sure the voices of the recreational fishing community are heard on programs and policies. The advisor will continue a robust dialogue with everyone from anglers to charter boat captains to the people who work in the many businesses that serve America's saltwater anglers. One of the first orders of business will be to work closely with the angling community to develop and hold a recreational fishing summit to identify issues of concern and map out solutions.

Until we hire the special advisor, who I hope will be in place by the end of the year, I've asked Gordon Colvin to serve in the position on an interim basis.

Gordon is a fisheries biologist who has been leading NOAA's effort to develop the national saltwater angler registry — a tool that will help us improve the scientific understanding and management of fisheries by getting better and more complete information from the nation's saltwater anglers.

Gordon came to NOAA after working many years for the state of New York as its director of the Bureau of Marine Resources. Gordon is a recreational fisherman who knows the angling community and knows the people involved in state fisheries management. He'll be working with this community and his colleagues at NOAA on the summit.

Some of the suggested topics for the summit include improving the data needed to incorporate the economic value of recreational fishing into NOAA's information and reports, recreational fish habitat considerations, a review of NOAA's implementation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requirements for closure of areas to fishing, catch shares, and how NOAA's Fisheries Service can focus personnel and financial resources on the recreational sector.

Our goal is to improve our ability to work productively with the angling community while managing all fisheries sustainably for today's anglers, their children and grandchildren. I welcome your thoughts and I encourage you to spread the word about this new and important position.

I welcome your comments. Please send them to me at public.concerns.groundfish@noaa.gov.

Jim Balsiger is the acting assistant administrator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Fisheries Service.