Brazil/US Program Produces First PhD

ana_and_advisors_340x237Ana Paula Krelling successfully defended her doctoral dissertation before a binational panel via videoconferencing last week, becoming the first graduate of the dual-degree PhD program in Marine Science and Technology between UMass Dartmouth and the University of São Paulo (USP) in Brazil.

The dual degree program was initially established through an MOU signed in December 2011 by then Chancellor Jean MacCormack and USP Rector João Grandino Rodas. Continue reading

Stokesbury to Keynote Pectinid Workshop

seafood_fest_2014 016_320x240Prof. Kevin Stokesbury, Chair of SMAST’s Department of Fisheries Oceanography, has been chosen ‌to deliver a keynote address at the 20th International Pectinid Workshop in Galway City, Ireland, in April.

In the words of the workshop organizing committee, “We are very fortunate to have Dr. Kevin Stokesbury attend and be a keynote speaker at this year’s IPW. Dr. Stokesbury, from the UMass-Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) in New Bedford, USA, is well respected for his innovative work in surveying scallops and groundfish by developing the SMAST Scallop Video Survey. Continue reading

New Instrument Unveiled at AGU

wp_altabet_GTDSMAST Professor Mark Altabet is part of a multi-institutional team that introduced a novel oceanographic instrument to the scientific community at December’s fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union (AGU). Researchers from the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory and SMAST/UMassD developed the instrument to monitor the biogeochemistry of oxygen minimum zones (OMZs) in the ocean on time scales impractical for shipboard studies.

The new Teflon-membrane-based “gas tension device” (GTD) measures the excess nitrogen gas microbially generated in OMZs, with a depth range from the surface to 550 meters, a significant advancement over previous GTD models. Continue reading

Rothschild Named Hjort Scholar

wp_brian_rothschild_7sep1SMAST Prof. Emeritus Brian Rothschild has been appointed a Hjort Scholar by the Hjort Centre for Marine Ecosystem Dynamics, Bergen, Norway. According to the appointment letter, recipients of Hjort Scholarships are “… scientists whose research is deemed to promote scientific innovation and understanding of marine ecosystem dynamics.” The award includes a grant in the amount of 50.000 krone (~US$7000), which will be directed to research collaboration and proposal development with Centre scientists.

The center is named for Johan Hjort, widely considered to be the father of fisheries science.

In October, Dr. Rothschild delivered an invited address at the Johan Hjort Symposium on Recruitment Dynamics and Stock Variability in Bergen. The occasion for the symposium was the 100th anniversary of the publication of Hjort’s seminal book, Fluctuations in the Great Fisheries of Northern Europe. According to the symposium organizers, “The importance of [Hjort’s] volume cannot be overstated, particularly Hjort’s new conceptual ideas about the formation of strong year classes based on age determination from fish scales.”

Dr. Rothschild is Professor Emeritus and founding Dean of the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology. He is currently President and CEO of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries (CSF), a science-based, non-profit organization “devoted to the onservation of our fisheries resources and the economic development of our fishing communities.”

O’Keefe to Address AAAS

wp_cate_podium_320x240SMAST Research Associate Dr. Catherine O’Keefe has been invited to address the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in San Jose, California, in February. Cate’s presentation is entitled “An Incentive-Led, Dynamic Communication Program in the U.S. Atlantic Scallop Fishery.”

Cate is the principal architect of the SMAST Bycatch Avoidance Program, which since 2010 has helped prevent bycatch-related closures of New Bedford’s $600 million scallop fishery.

When the scallop fleet reaches their limit of flounder bycatch, areas are closed to the fleet, preventing full harvest of scallops. In fact, from 2006 to 2009, the scallop fishery was closed early because it approached the flounder bycatch limit, costing the industry approximately $60 million.

Cate and other SMAST researchers worked with scallop fishermen to develop an information sharing system that enables fishermen to avoid bycatch hotspots. The program was implemented in 2010, and the fleet was able to catch their entire scallop allocation, while only catching one third of their bycatch limit, thus making the program a conservation success as well as an economic success. The program has grown over the last five years to include over 70% of the scallop fleet, and the fishery has not exceeded their bycatch limits since the program was introduced.

During the past year, Cate has been working with a group of researchers from both the east and west coasts of the U.S. to advance real-time ocean management. Along with colleagues from the group, she’ll be presenting results from that work at the conference.

O’Keefe Receives Young Alumni Award

wp_cate_at_podium_croppedSMAST Research Associate Dr. Catherine ‘Cate’ O’Keefe was awarded the UMass Dartmouth Young Alumni Award last Thursday at a ceremony at the Carney Library.

Cate’s most noted accomplishment, based on her dissertation research, offers a solution to a major problem in fisheries: “bycatch.”

New Bedford’s $600 million scallop fishery inadvertently catches flounders, but the flounder stocks have been overfished and are strictly regulated. So, when the scallop fleet reaches the limit of flounder bycatch, the scallop season officially ends. And in fact, from 2006 to 2009, the scallop fishery was closed early because it approached the flounder bycatch limit, costing the fleet approximately $60 million.

In the words of SMAST Prof. Steve Cadrin, who introduced Cate at the ceremony, “Cate worked closely with scallop fishermen to develop an information sharing system which [enables] fishermen to avoid bycatch hotspots.”

“The program was implemented in 2010, and the scallop fleet was allowed to stay open the entire year to catch their entire scallop allocation, while only catching one third of their bycatch limit,” Cadrin reported. “So it was a conservation success as well as an economic success.”

Cate is now working locally and abroad to share her research with other fisheries to solve their bycatch problems.

NOAA Economist to be SMAST Visiting Scholar

wp_john_walden1_newsJohn Walden, an economist with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, has been appointed to the Social Sciences Visiting Scholar position at SMAST. He is replacing Min-Yang Lee, who has returned full-time to his duties in Woods Hole. John has been on staff with the NEFSC since 1987.

For the past 15 years, John’s research has focused on measuring technical efficiency, capacity and productivity in commercial fisheries. During that time he has built an internationally recognized research program in this area. He has developed research collaborations with faculty at a number of universities, as well as with the USDA Economic Research Service and the Environmental Protection Agency.

This summer, John organized fishery sessions at both the North American Productivity Workshop, and the Asia-Pacific Productivity Conference. Additionally, he led the national effort by NMFS to measure capacity in commercial fisheries in response to a request from Congress, and more recently developed productivity metrics which were applied to U.S. catch share fisheries.

John will be co-teaching a class with Prof. Dan Georgianna in the spring semester. He also plans to develop a fully on-line course, offered through SMAST, to be centered on fisheries economics for policy decisions.

Rothschild to Address Hjort Symposium

wp_brian_rothschild_7sep1_007SMAST Prof. Emeritus Brian Rothschild has been invited to deliver the summary address at the Johan Hjort Symposium on Recruitment Dynamics and Stock Variability next week in Bergen, Norway.

Hjort is widely considered to be the father of fisheries science. The occasion for the symposium is the 100th anniversary of the publication of Hjort’s seminal book, Fluctuations in the Great Fisheries of Northern Europe.

According to the symposium organizers, “The importance of [Hjort’s] volume cannot be overstated, particularly Hjort’s new conceptual ideas about the formation of strong year classes based on age determination from fish scales.”

Dr. Rothschild is Professor Emeritus and former Dean of the School for Marine Science and Technology. He has edited five books and is the author of 100+ research papers.

Dr. Rothschild has worked in several capacities for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and has consulted for the United Nations and several national governments on various aspects of oceanography and fishery management. He has served on numerous national and international committees and working groups, and has led international scientific programs.

Dr. Rothschild is currently President and CEO of the Center for Sustainable Fisheries (CSF), a science-based, non-profit organization “devoted to the conservation of our fisheries resources and the economic development of our fishing communities.”

Awards to Support Gear Design/Eddy Research

wp_pingguoSMAST Professor Pingguo He has received a $205K award from NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service for “Avoiding Overfished Flounders: Testing of Low Seabed Impact of Semi-Pelagic Trawling Technology for Groundfish on the Georges Bank.” The project will design and test trawling gear innovations to reduce seabed impact for the New England groundfish fishery, while significantly reducing the catch of the so-called “choke” species of flounder: yellowtail, winter and windowpane. Similar technology is successfully used in the North Pacific for Alaskan pollock and in Norway for Atlantic cod. The project is a collaborative initiative involving university and state scientists and contributors from the gear technology and fishing industries.

wp_amitIn a separate award, UMass Dartmouth Professor Amit Tandon (Mech. Eng./SMAST) has received $324K from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for his part in collaborative research on the “Role of Mixed Layer Eddies on Phytoplankton Productivity in Seasonally Variable Regimes.” The total award is for $1.1 million over four years, with the remainder supporting the research of collaborator Dr. Amala Mahadevan of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. The investigators will contribute to outreach efforts, including teacher training and ocean literacy workshops through the Ocean Academy at the Ocean Explorium in New Bedford.

Eddy Wins “Best Student Paper” at AFS

wp_corey_and_sharkPh.D. student Corey Eddy (Biology/SMAST) won the “Best Student Paper Presentation” award at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting last month in Quebec City for “Capture-Related Mortality and Post-Release Survival of Pelagic Sharks Interacting with Tuna Purse Seines in the Eastern Pacific Ocean.” Corey’s advisor, Prof. Diego Bernal, was co-author of the paper.

At the same meeting, UMass Dartmouth scientists and students authored or co-authored some three dozen oral and poster presentations. In addition, SMAST scientists organized and/or moderated technical sessions on Fishing Gear Selectivity and Selective Fishing; Marine Mammal and Fisheries Interactions; Fishing down the Food Web; and Modeling and Statistics.

The Society’s 144th annual meeting was sponsored by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and the Northeastern Division, the Atlantic International Chapter, and the Canadian Aquatic Resources Section of the American Fisheries Society (AFS).

See a complete list of UMassD contributions at the AFS meeting.