Patricia “Trish” Clay, a fisheries anthropologist with our Social Sciences Branch, will became the 51st recipient of the prestigious Bronislaw Malinowski Award at the annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology this month in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She will also gave a special lecture and co-chaired a session on the social dimensions of fisheries and climate change. 

Trish has been with our science center since 1993, and she was the first sociocultural social scientist hired at a NOAA Fisheries science center. She studies fishing communities and ways to better incorporate human dimensions into fishery science, management, and laws. Among her many achievements, she is now turning her attention to the influence of climate change. Learn more about Trish, in her own words. 

Each March we celebrate a few of our science center’s women scientists by highlighting them and their work. This year we asked four of them to share their science journey, what advice they have for the next generation of women scientists, and more. Let’s meet our 2024 Women’s History Month science mavens:

• Megan Amico, fish biologist 
• Dvora Hart, operations research analyst
• Gillian Phillips, community ecology technician
• Angela Silva, social scientist

Be sure to check out our previous Women’s History Month profiles dating back to 2017!

Our Ecosystem Surveys Branch is looking for appropriate vessels to participate in our annual Atlantic sea scallop survey. In addition to vessel specification requirements outlined in the contract opportunity, vessels will also need to be available to participate in the survey sometime between May and July 2024, ideally in June. The deadline to apply is April 5, 2024.

More than 600 industry professionals, scientists, managers, and students gathered in Providence, Rhode Island, for the largest ever Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Expo and Milford Aquaculture Seminar in January 2024:

• 236 presenters shared their work over 3 days
• 59 students received support to participate
• 189 participants got hands-on experience with aquaculture through field trips and workshops
• 34 aquaculture vendors participated in the trade show

NOAA’s Office of Aquaculture held an interactive public listening session on the future of aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries. This biannual conference is jointly organized by our Milford Laboratory, which conducts science to inform management for the sustainable expansion of aquaculture, and the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, an organization dedicated to developing socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable aquaculture opportunities in Maine.

BBC Earth created a video about the important ecological role whales play in marine ecosystems. In their video, they feature the on-demand—or “ropeless”—gear technology we’ve been developing and testing with fishermen in our region. On-demand systems remove the vertical line in the water column to reduce the risk of large whale entanglement in American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. 

A collaborative study conducted aboard a Rhode Island-based commercial trawler from 2015 to 2017 is bearing fruit. It was led by our science center and commercial fishermen interested in how catches of the same species varied depending on the type of trawl net used. Since 2019, stock assessment scientists have used the results from this Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel study in multiple stock assessments to ensure sustainable fisheries for several flounder species as well as monkfish and red hake. Specifically, the results help produce more accurate estimates of abundance which can increase the confidence in catch advice for some species. 

Our Cooperative Research Branch is improving our understanding of the short-lived and migratory longfin squid through a new collaborative project. They launched the Longfin Squid Biological Sampling, or SQUIBS, project in May 2023. Since then, they’ve been working closely with 23 fishing vessels in our region to collect data that will fill knowledge gaps and contribute to the 2026 longfin squid research track stock assessment. To date, they’ve collected nearly 9,000 squid for analyses!

Last fall marked the 10th anniversary of our Cooperative Research Branch’s Gulf of Maine Cooperative Bottom Longline Survey! To celebrate this milestone, field and communications specialist Giovanni Gianesin wrote a blog sharing his reflections on changing seasons, overcoming challenges, catching a Saildrone in action, and more! 

Survey scientists get to see all kinds of interesting things while working at sea. During the winter 2024 Ecosystem Monitoring Survey, scientists blogged and took photos, capturing their work, day-to-day life, and amazing moments. Fishery biologist Katey Marancik wrote a few blogs during the winter survey. Her first blog shares the literal ups and downs of trying to get to the survey vessel and her second blog is a foodie blog for planktivores. Finally, be sure to check out their new photo gallery! It highlights what survey life is like when your office is a large floating marine laboratory. Stay tuned—more photos to be added soon! 

Our Bottom Trawl Survey turned 60 years old in November 2023. To celebrate this milestone, survey scientists have been taking photos and blogging. The latest blog from fish biologist Jessica Blaylock walks us through what kinds of data she and other survey scientists collect during the survey and how that data are used in stock assessments. The spring 2024 survey got underway this month. Scientists have been taking pictures to share their survey experiences. Their new photo gallery highlights the ebbs and flows, incredible marine life, and cherished moments of survey life. Check back soon—more photos to be added!

Our science center’s fish biologist Michelle Passerotti recently assisted our colleagues at the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center and others with a necropsy of a 15-foot immature female white shark that was found on a Florida panhandle beach. The research team of eight biologists spent 9 hours collecting precise measurements, recording detailed notes, and obtaining valuable biological samples and information about the shark. 

Director's Message

Four years ago, I published a perspective piece titled “Ten lessons from the frontlines of science in support of fisheries management.” It focused on how to address complex, wicked problems. There is nothing that we do at the science center that isn’t complex, including:

• Fisheries management
• North Atlantic right whale protection
• Atlantic salmon recovery
• Addressing the challenges of offshore wind development and climate change
• Providing for the sustainability of fishing communities
• Promoting sustainable aquaculture
• Protecting essential fish and critical habitats

In writing this perspective piece, I dug into public policy research and drew from my experiences in the wicked problems. One lesson I would like to highlight is lesson 3: Encourage and engage in participatory science. We have to work together cooperatively and collaboratively, bringing different expertise, experiences, and perspectives to the issues we face.

There are a number of activities at the science center that live up to this lesson. One quintessential example is our Cooperative Research Program. While there are a multitude of examples of participatory science across our science center, cooperative research is one of the best ways we work cooperatively and collaboratively with industry to meet common goals. Coming together and respecting, listening, learning, and honoring each other's viewpoints helps move the needle forward on complex, wicked problems.