An Overview Of Our Solution
Collaborative Fisheries Research Fellowship
Who is this solution impacting?
Ecosystem
Océanos/Costas
Community Type
Rural
Additional Information
- Population Impacted:
- Continent: América del norte
Problem
Describe the problem
The Collaborative Fisheries Research Fellowship builds capacity among scientists and fishermen to enter effective research partnerships in conservation engineering, fishing gear design, and fishing practices. Using advanced distance learning and e-Networking platforms, the inaugural 2010 class were from across the US and French Guiana, working on turtle excluders in tropical shrimp fisheries, shark repellant technologies in longline fisheries, New England groundfish trawl selectivity, crab bycatch in Berring Sea fisheries, and environmental management systems in sector management. Peer mentoring, faculty coaching, and a research practicum are nurturing a strong science-industry network and professional cohort, integrating diverse knowledge, and producing widely adopted innovate solutions.
Biodiversity Impact
The benefits of collaborative fisheries research have been empirically demonstrated—enhanced credibility and legitimacy of the scientific findings among stakeholders, with potential to increase acceptability of management actions; innovative and adopted fishing gear and practices that reduce bycatch and minimize habitat impacts; greater mutual understanding and trust among scientists and fishermen; and opportunities to integrate diverse sources of knowledge about the coastal and marine environment. Common property resources literature calls for actively engaging resource extractors in monitoring the health of the resource in order to achieve sustainability. Collaborative research has become increasingly institutionalized in government, industry, and NGOs, e.g., see the NOAA National Cooperative Research Programs established in 2000 and the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program created through the 2007 re-authorization of the Magnuson Stevens Act. The Nature Conservancy’s permit banking program leases quota to fishermen willing to test and use gear that reduces bycatch and minimizes habitat impact. However, while the benefits are clear and the expectations growing, the fisheries scientist and fishermen workforce, including the field of conservation engineering, fish behavior, and fishing gear and practice design, is shrinking at an alarming rate through retirements. Thus, while collaborative fisheries research must be a component of scientists and fishermen’s skill set, there are too few being trained in collaborative research and gear design.
Solution
The 2010 inaugural class of Collaborative Fisheries Research Fellows included students from Maine, Massachusetts (2), Oregon, and French Guiana (attending a Virginia institution). Fellows participated in a web-based course to increase understanding of the 1) basic knowledge underlying the theory and practice of collaborative research and the basic principles of conservation engineering, fish behavior, and statistics, 2) skills needed to function effectively as a collaborative researcher, and 3) professional standards emerging in the field. Through peer mentoring and faculty coaching on an e-Networking social media platform, the program cultivated a professional cohort of collaborative researchers and aided scientist and the fishing industry establish productive professional relationships to advance science and the adoption of new bycatch reduction technologies. Their research practicum address turtle excluder devices (TED) in tropical shrimp fisheries, shark repellant technologies in longline fisheries, New England groundfish trawl selectivity, crab bycatch in Berring Sea fisheries, and environmental management systems (EMS) in sector management. The TED design was voluntarily adopted in French Guiana and legislation was passed to mandate TED use. The EMS research is considering bycatch, energy consumption, and community supported fisheries comprehensively to meet a sectorƒ??s sustainability goals. The Fellowƒ??s solutions are effective and broadly adopted because they are tailored to local biodiversity threats and context. // The Collaborative Fisheries Research Fellowship program is a U.S.-based program, with international student participation and the research projects undertaken in the program have an international scope. The current class of Fellows are working on turtle excluders devices (TED) in tropical shrimp fisheries (Central and South America, Western Africa), shark repellant technologies in longline fisheries (in-shore New England), New England groundfish trawl selectivity, crab bycatch in Berring Sea (AK) fisheries, and environmental management systems (EMS) in sector management in Maine. Thus, the acreage of coverage for any given Fellowƒ??s projects can vary tremendous, from mid-coast Maine to the international longline fisheries. We are currently preparing for a second round of Fellowships with joint Sea Grant/NOAA Fisheries Science Center-funded Fellows in Virginia and California. The Virginia Fellow will work with the Southeast and international fisheries, California with the Southwest. Further, we currently have funding proposals pending expand the model into Central America, in collaboration with NOAA, including the development of a professional certification track, which will expand the reach of the program.
Replicability
How many years has your solution been applied? 1 year // Have others reproduced your solution elsewhere? No // The Collaborative Fisheries Research Fellowship is led by a faculty program leader, Dr. Troy Hartley, Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) Director and Research Associate Professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). Modest staff involvement from the VASG communication program supports the program. While Dr. Hartley’s responsibilities relate to administration and his academic expertise in the human dimensions of collaborative research, additional faculty include Drs. Chris Glass (University of New Hampshire—conservation engineering) and Steve Cadrin (University of Massachusetts—research design). The Fellow at VIMS is charged with facilitating and moderating the e-Networking social networking site, promoting on-going peer mentoring and faculty coaching through the year-long Fellowship and research practicum. The e-Networking platform is designed to grow with each additional class of Fellows and provide a long-term, sustainable tool for cohort growth and maintenance, and diffusion of innovation and lessons learned. Fellows annually hold a symposium as part of an existing professional society conference, e.g., in 2011 we held a program evaluation symposium at the American Fisheries Society meetings. The symposium serves as a graduation and overview of the Fellow’s research progress, and as a peer-review program evaluation session.
Human Well Being and Livelihood Impact
Investing in collaborative research and workforce development has a multiplier impact on human wellbeing and livelihoods—research at the University of New Hampshire has quantified the economic impact of several years of cooperative research funding in New England. Non-economic social benefits have been empirically demonstrated too. Collaborative research projects typically involve financial payment to fishermen and scientists, thus directly inputting economic resources into the fishing industry, with secondary impacts in the local economy and from keeping the fleet active, which lowers maintenance costs, sustains crew employment, and counteracts the loss of fishermen and cultural heritage. Industry leaders in collaborative research are often leaders in local fisheries management, thus advancing the science-to-management impacts of the research and ensuring professionals with a research and stewardship ethic are leading the fisheries. While the Fellowship has been in operation for one year and directly impacted five Fellows, it is continuing and the current Fellow’s projects have impacted an entire sector of fishermen in Maine, hundreds of French Guiana shrimp fishermen, large Bering Sea fishing vessels, hard-to-reach Portuguese trawlers in New Bedford, MA, and marginalized Downeast Maine longline fishermen. Pending grant support seeks to expand the Fellowship with a professional certification track, which will greatly expand the alumni of the program. The effectiveness of tailored bycatch reduction solutions ensures local adoption and helps maintain the local fishery. // Collaborative research is considered an approach to conducting research and is often described along a continuum from cooperative to collaborative. Cooperative fisheries research becomes collaborative as the fishing industry becomes increasingly integrated into all stages of the scientific research process from formation of the research question through design, data gathering, and analysis, to communicating the results and findings. Collaborative research is problem-focused, rigorously designed scientific research, conducted in real-world settings, and reflecting issues of mutual interest to the research partners. Partners can be drawn from the scientific, managerial, private and/or nonprofit sectors. Collaborative research on fishing gear designs and fishing operations to produce a cleaner catch, with less small, low-market value fish and to minimize bycatch and habitat impacts, for example, are mutually beneficial to scientists, industry, managers, and conservation organizations. Gear modifications are a common fisheries management tool and thus of interest to resource managers. Research has shown that industry partners have interest in research that has management implications—having an impact in fisheries management is a strong motivator for industry participation in collaborative research. Thus, Fellows are training in the human dimensions of collaboration, where partners are equal, strive for mutual benefits and understanding, and seek to share governance responsibilities for the research design, implementation, and ramifications of its outcomes.