MESAS IGERT Internships
Summer 2011
Establishing a training course in ecosystem approaches to fisheries for developing countries: Internship at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
Thomas Farrugia
I completed my internship as a consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations during the summer of 2011. I worked primarily on the EAF-Nansen project, which supports the implementation of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries (EAF) in developing countries through two main tactics. Firstly, the FAO helps fisheries managers, scientists and policy-makers develop ecosystem-based management plans through training and workshops. To this end, there was a need to develop a comprehensive course that could be adapted to the 32 current partner countries of the project, as well as future potential partners. The second goal of the EAF-Nansen project is to support management decisions by providing data collected by the research vessel Dr Fridtjof Nansen, which has been collecting survey data since 1975.
To address the training objective of the project, I was charged with gathering and consolidating EAF information into a three-week course that could be taken to any partner country and used to train in-country fisheries practitioners. The presentation that I produced provides background on fisheries management and EAF, a practical guide of how to use the EAF Toolbox produced by the project, as well as in-class exercises and a case study section to provide practice in implementing an EAF management plan. Because the main focus of the project is currently in African countries, I also translated the course into French. In addition, I participated in a stakeholder workshop in Tanzania designed to assist fishers, managers and scientists identify the social, ecological and economic issues they wanted to address in their fisheries management plan and perform a risk assessment on these issues. Finally, to assist the data support objective of the EAF-Nansen project, I helped organize an expert workshop, to be held this September, on how to use survey data to inform EAF management decision. Through these efforts, the EAF-Nansen project is supporting local fisheries managers and scientists in developing countries, which is crucial to successfully promoting sustainable development.
Conservation Alternatives for Cusk and River Herring in New England
Alexis Hall
A declining trend has been evident since the 1980s for populations of river herring (Alosa pseudoharengus and Alosa aestivalis) and cusk (Brosme brosme) along the northeastern seaboard. Landings and survey indices have decreased considerably for cusk. An increase in the ratio of landings to survey biomass estimates since 1986 implies an increase in exploitation over this time period. River herring populations have declined throughout much of their range, prompting the establishment of moratoriums on taking and possessing river herring in Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Delaware and North Carolina. Recorded numbers of river herring entering these rivers suggest population collapses. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has listed both river herring and cusk as “species of concern.” NMFS is responsible to promote conservation efforts for species for which NMFS has concerns regarding population status and threats (e.g., river herring) and for those for which information is insufficient to determine whether listing under the Endangered Species Act is warranted (e.g., cusk). The goal of this project was to review available information on these species, including potential risks and environmental threats, to develop a list of proactive conservation activities that NMFS should consider undertaking. The combined effects of overfishing, bycatch and habitat degradation have had drastic long-term impacts on river herring and cusk. These threats make it difficult for these species to reproduce successfully to sustain their populations over time. Identification of proactive efforts that can be taken to conserve such species of concern helps NMFS ameliorate current and future threats to these species.
Educating the public on the importance of the National Marine Fisheries Service Gulf of Alaska bottom trawl surveys
Melissa Johnson
The National Marine Fishery Service (NMFS) conducts biennial bottom trawl surveys in many areas of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA) that are closed to commercial trawlers. Even though the ships used in the surveys are indentified as research vessels, many people in the coastal towns along the Gulf are unsure why research ships trawl in areas that commercial fisherman cannot and what type of data are collected. My internship this summer involved working with Rebecca Reuter at the NMFS office in Seattle, WA on ways to educate the public on the types of data that are collected on the bottom trawl surveys, how the data are used in research, and how the research influences fisheries management. The summer was planned in two parts: six weeks on a Gulf of Alaska bottom trawl survey; and 4-6 weeks creating a web page on the survey data and research on the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFCS) Education and Outreach website (http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Education/default.htm). On the ship, I was going to see how the data were collected, talk to the scientists on board about what data they are collecting for their research, and become proficient in identifying groundfish living in the Gulf. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I was unable to participate on the trawl survey. Instead, I interviewed researchers at the AFSC about the data collected from previous surveys and how they incorporate the data into their research. Because I missed the GOA bottom trawl survey, I have been invited to participate on the Aleutian Islands bottom trawl survey next year. Along with the interviews, I conducted an extensive literature search of official NMFS reports and published journal papers to contribute content for the outreach website. The completed and published website will inform the public that the NMFS bottom trawl surveys are important for understanding groundfish abundance and distribution, as well as collecting data to help study other population dynamics such as age, growth, life span, reproduction, and prey items. In addition, many links to external websites will be provided for those that are interested in more detailed information.Â
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