Mission

The main mission of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography is the delivery of quality education and conduct of cutting-edge research in the interdisciplinary sciences related to the interactions between marine organisms and the marine environment. Research approaches employed include field exploration, laboratory experiments, theoretical research and modeling, and our students are fully involved in all these aspects.

As of 2010, New Bedford has reigned for ten years as the number one fishing port in the country in terms of value of landings, and cooperative research with the fishing industry is critical to the work of DFO at SMAST. Cooperative research enriches our work with the knowledge and perspective of the fishermen, alerts us to issues important to the health of the industry and the stocks, and enhances our ability to collect high quality data. For example, the scallop industry has worked extensively with the DFO to develop the world's largest video survey data-base of the sea scallop resource, and this research has been used in every management plan since 1999. Cooperative research occurs throughout the DFO in the industry-based annual sea scallop video survey, fishing gear research and design, socio-economic investigations, and research on species such as cod, herring, yellowtail flounder, winter flounder, and monkfish.

Our purpose is to train scientists in the techniques and theory of fisheries oceanography, with emphasis on stock assessment, population dynamics, physical and biological interaction and ecosystem modeling. Both MS and PhD programs address the growing need for marine scientists in federal and state agencies, academic institutions, and industry.

Faculty

Stokesbury, Kevin, Dept. Chairperson, Professor, BSc 1984, MSc 1987 Acadia University, Nova Scotia, PhD 1994 Universite Laval, Quebec. Specializations: Marine biology/ecology focusing on fisheries including scallop population dynamics and life history studies. (Fisheries)

Azadivar, Farhad, Professor (Joint with Mechanical Engineering), BSc 1970, MSc 1972, PhD 1980 Purdue University. Specializations: Modeling and optimization of manufacturing systems, computer simulation, management of technological innovation.

Cadrin, Steven, Associate Professor, BS 1985 Long Island University, MS 1995 University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, PhD 2003 University of Rhode Island. Specializations: General fisheries science that is relevant to resource management, population modeling of fishery resources, spatial population structure and movement, collaborative research with fishermen.(Fisheries)

Chen, Changsheng, Professor, BS 1979, MS 1983 Ocean University of Qingdao, China, MS 1989, PhD 1992 Massachusetts Institute of Technology/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Specializations: Modeling and observational exploration of coastal ocean circulation, oceanic frontal processes, turbulent mixing/bottom boundary layer dynamics, chaotic mixing, western boundary currents, internal waves and tides, and biological/physical interaction. (Marine Ecosystem Dynamics Modeling)

Cowles, Geoffrey, Assistant Professor, BS 1994 Cornell University, MA 1996, PhD 2001 Princeton University. Specializations: the application of numerical methods to problems in fluid and ecosystem dynamics including both scheme development and applications. (Computational Methods)

Georgianna, Daniel L, Chancellor Professor, (Joint with Economics), BS 1965 College of the Holy Cross, PhD 1977 University of Massachusetts Amherst. Specializations: Marine resource economics, comparative economic systems, and history of economic thought.

He, Pingguo, Associate Professor of Marine Science and Technology, BEng 1982 Zhejiang (China) Ocean University, PhD 1987 University of Aberdeen (UK). Specializations: Fish behavior and fishing gear; sustainable utilization of fisheries resource of Northeastern US and beyond. (Fish Behavior and Conservation Engineering )

Hyun, Saang-Yoon, Assistant Professor of Marine Science and Technology, BS 1993 Cheju (Korea) National University, MS 1996, PhD 2002 University of Washington. Specializations: statistical inference of population parameters, prediction of future abundance, biostatistics, ecological modeling, population dynamics, and stock assessment. (Quantitative Fisheries Management)

Rothschild, Brian, Professor, BS 1957 Rutgers University, MS 1959 University of Maine, PhD 1962 Cornell University. Specializations: population dynamics, fishery management, ocean ecosystems.(Fisheries)

O’Connor, Nancy J., Associate Professor, (Joint with Biology), BS 1980 Southeastern Massachusetts University (UMass Dartmouth), MS 1982 University of Delaware, PhD 1990 North Carolina State University. Specializations: Marine invertebrate ecology, biology of marine larvae.

Turner, Jefferson, Chancellor Professor, (Joint with Biology), BS 1969 Guilford College, MA 1972 University of South Florida, PhD 1977 Texas A&M University. Specialization: Biological oceanography. (Biological Oceanography - Plankton Ecology)

Adjunct Faculty

Beardsley, Robert, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Boreman, John, Director, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Diodati, Paul, Director, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Hare, Jonathan, Supervisory Research Marine Scientist, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Jacobson, Larry, Invertebrate Resources Task Leader, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Legault, Chris, Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Link, Jason, Program Leader, Food Web Dynamics Program, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Murawski, Steven, Director of Scientific Programs, Chief Science Advisor, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Pierce, David, Deputy Director, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Rago, Paul, Chief Scientist, Population Dynamics Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Sherman, Kenneth, Director, Office of Marine Ecosystems Studies, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service

Skomal, Gregory, Senior Marine Fisheries Biologist, Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries

Stevens, Bradley, Professor, Natural Sciences, University of Maryland Eastern Shore