Healthy ocean environments provide vital life support for roughly 3 billion people living in coastal communities worldwide. These vibrant ecosystems deliver numerous benefits to coastal communities that often rely on ocean industries such as commercial fishing for sustenance and income.
Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries recently announced the 2021 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship recipients. Five population and ecosystem dynamics fellowships and two marine resource economics fellowships were awarded through this national program.
The fellowships offered within this program are aimed at training the next generation of specialized experts in fisheries management. The program addresses the critical need for future fisheries scientists with expertise in stock assessment and related fields.
Taking a holistic, ecosystem-based approach to managing small prey species known as forage fish could yield several economic and ecological benefits, a new study has found. The research, which focused on forage fisheries off the coast of California, modeled a management strategy for two forage fish species—anchovy and sardine—while also considering populations of halibut and brown pelicans, both of which feed upon forage fish.
California Sea Grant is pleased to announce seven new research projects, a total of $346,000, supporting early-career faculty members at universities throughout the state. The one-year projects focus on two key areas of California Sea Grant’s strategic plan: sustainable fisheries & aquaculture, and coastal resilience. Continue reading the announcement here.
How do we gauge the impacts of fisheries on communities that rely on them? A recent study from researchers at the University of Alaska, Anchorage, the University of California, Davis, and NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center demonstrates measurable increases in resident income linked to increases in fishery earnings, illustrating the impact of fisheries and the importance of local resource ownership in coastal economies.
As you gaze down at the piece of salmon sitting atop the sushi roll you just ordered, you may wonder: Where did this fish come from? Who caught it? How are there enough fish being caught to feed all of the other people who ordered a salmon sushi roll today? Will there be enough tomorrow as well? Despite pondering these questions for a few seconds, you probably shrug it off and delve into your delicious meal, not to think of it again until the next time you arrive at a sushi restaurant.
