In January, we announced the winner of the Women of Fisheries Gives Back! Award for early career fisheries scientists. Although we were only able give out one award, the applicants were excellent and we wanted to highlight a few of their unique journeys and experiences. Meet some of the amazing early career women in fisheries science!
From early career to retired fisheries scientists, we would love to feature and amplify your experiences! Please fill out our Women of Fisheries Profile form to be featured individually in a future blog post!
Sarah Williamson
As part of my undergraduate degree requirements, I conducted my senior research project on “The Effect of Photoperiod and Water Temperature on Complete Blood Counts (CBC) of Beluga Whales (Delphinapterus leucas)” at Mystic Aquarium in Mystic, CT. The study wanted to see if their CBC had any correlation with photoperiod and water temperature. This project made me realize that I enjoyed data collection as well as analyzing my own data. Furthermore, I was able to rehabilitate seals with the Seal Rescue Ireland. At Seal Rescue Ireland, I worked with sick/injured/abandoned/orphaned grey seals and common harbor seals. I am involved with all aspects of the rehabilitation process as well as helping develop education outreach activities for the community. With these travels, I was able to meet people that helped me get into my fisheries job.
Currently, I am a North Pacific Groundfish and At-Sea Hake Observer Program observer for Saltwater Inc., and I have over 1,000 deployment days over 14 deployments. Through these deployments, I have been on pollock and flatfish catcher/processor vessels where I collected large amounts of data and identified a variety of fishes. On these vessels, I am a certified lead observer with a secondary observer working with me. In addition, I work as a Setline Survey Specialist for the International Pacific Halibut Commission during the summer, and I was selected to represent IPHC on the 2022 NOAA Bottom Trawl survey.
Katie Harrington
My interest in fisheries science was first sparked during my undergraduate studies at the University of Florida through courses like Biology of Fishes and Introduction to Fisheries Science. After earning a degree in Biology, I joined the Center for Fisheries Electronic Monitoring (CFEMM) at Mote Marine Laboratory. At CFEMM, we use electronic monitoring video technology as a tool to provide industry stakeholders and management in the Gulf of Mexico reef fish fishery the accurate, independent data needed for ensuring long-term fishery health. In 2022, I received microgrants from Sustainable Ocean Alliance, Environmental Defense Fund, and Sea Pact, to develop and implement automation routines geared towards supplying stakeholders with personalized data summary reports and hotspot fishing maps that delineate target and bycatch species distributions. These projects helped fuel my passion for using technology to enhance the sustainability of local fisheries and inspired me to pursue a Master’s degree in Data Intelligence from the University of South Florida while continuing at CFEMM. My position at the CFEMM has afforded me the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the development of fisheries management through the fusion of data science and electronic monitoring technology. Moving forward, I am committed to advancing the mission of protecting and restoring our fisheries and the communities that depend on them.
Emily Nocito
I received my PhD last May (2023) in Environmental Studies from the University of Colorado Boulder, where my research focused on marine conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction. I love studying complex problems that are at the intersection of decision-making and the environment. To me, areas beyond national jurisdiction are one of the most complex ethnoecology issues of our day. Who and how can we tell entire countries what to fish, how much to fish, and when to fish? How do we protect our marine environment while acknowledging inequalities within the fishing community? These are all questions I find fascinating and strive to study. I have a very untraditional field site for a marine scientist. During the first year of my MS (2018, MS in Marine Policy, from University of Maine), I was afforded the opportunity to attend a preparatory meeting for the High Seas Treaty negotiations at the United Nations HQ in NYC. I stayed in that space, studying and attending the negotiations until 2023 when a text was agreed upon and adopted. I think showing non-traditional field experiences is very important in the marine sciences, since many students face monetary and even physical barriers to more traditional fieldwork sites, such as ships, boats, and offsite living. I am currently a Knauss Fellow at NOAA Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, where I work on the US implementation of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development – a position my untraditional path has definitely prepared me well for!
Alu Phoebe
My name is Alu Phoebe. I am a Fifth-year student of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Management at the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture in Umudike, Nigeria. I have always been passionate about agriculture before I got into college, my parents were farmers, and taking care of animals, and watching them grow has always been a delight for me. When I wanted to apply to college, I chose fisheries and aquatic resources management because it was the branch of agriculture I had not been exposed to and I wanted to learn. My interest increased each year as I continued in my studies, however during my Students’ Industrial Work Experience Scheme (SIWES) year, I got involved in some practical aspects, where I was able to carry out a successful breeding of the North African catfish, Clarias gariepinus. I was able to raise Clarias spp. to table size, using both commercial feed and live maggot food that I had cultured during the period. I look forward to being able to produce food fish for the globe as well as providing work opportunities through the process.