As we transition into the Fall, I am wrapping up my Master’s program in Marine Resource Management! For this post, I’d like to give a short overview of my project over the last couple years. 

My project looked at ideas of adaptation in small-scale fisheries. Fishermen are constantly adapting and changing the way they fish in response to a variety of unpredictabilities in social-ecological systems. For example, changes in the weather, market, fishing seasons, and even larger scale climate and ocean patterns affect the ways people fish. Adaptive capacity is the abilities of fishermen to cope with these changes in order to continue fishing and maintain their livelihoods.

One way to adapt is to catch several different species. That way, there are other options of species to fish for in case certain species become unavailable. This strategy is called “portfolio diversification.” There are ways to build a diverse portfolio to make one more resilient or better able to adapt to change.

A resilient portfolio consists of species that are uncorrelated with each other, meaning that their landings do not coincide or overlap with one another. Here, a fisherman is able to fish for at least one abundant species throughout the entire year.

On the other hand, a less resilient portfolio would consist of landings peaking at similar times as one another. This scenario would imply “busy seasons” where a fisherman catches several species, but it would not allow for a continuous income throughout the year. A less resilient portfolio would look something like this. 

Network theory helps to study the patterns of these portfolios in order to understand fishermen’s adaptive capacities. Fisheries connectivity networks display the timing of fisheries landings, and they can be measured to see the extent that species landings that may or may not correspond with one another. Representing small-scale fisheries this way acknowledges that there are several diverse target species.

I used this analysis to look at fishing portfolios of small-scale fisheries around the Baja California Peninsula in Mexico from 2001-2017. Region 1’s networks showed increasing adaptive capacity while the others decreased. This is important because it alludes to the fact that fishing patterns vary through time and space. Such information can be helpful when thinking about how to manage multi-species fisheries in areas of different adaptive capacities. 

My project has been really interesting and I’ve loved learning about different aspects of fisheries resilience over the past couple years. Being a Malouf scholar over the last year and having access to professional development through Oregon Sea Grant has helped me think more about how to communicate these topics to others outside of academia, especially as more and more education is being done remotely. Currently, I am creating short 2-minute videos to post on social media that explain topics I study, describing keywords such as adaptation, resilience, and social-ecological systems. I’m excited to continue working on this as I move onto a PhD in Geography here at OSU.

It’s been interesting to study adaptation and resilience while experiencing unprecedented current events like pandemic and wildfires. Mostly, it’s heartening to see communities’ generosity and resilience as people all around Oregon help each other in times of need. I hope everyone is staying safe!

Until next time,

Keiko

The days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting cooler, and it’s really starting to feel like this strange summer is winding to a close. In this last week before the start of my classes, I’ve been thinking about my fellowship with the Oregon Sea Grant. What have I learned, and how will this experience affect me in the future?

I’ll start by addressing the elephant in the room: this has been a crazy summer! I consider myself to be a resilient and adaptable person, but a pandemic, unrest and violence on the streets of my home town, and then huge fires looming down on us and spewing smoke was a lot to try and take in stride. I’m so grateful for my health and that I still have a place to call home!

I’m also so grateful to all the people who I’ve had the chance to work with during my fellowship. I know that at best these folks were going through the same experience that I was, and it’s entirely possible that this whole cascade of events has touched them in a more personal way than it has me. Despite everything that was going on, I consistently encountered generosity, kindness, and willingness to help from all the people I had the chance to work with. I would like to give a special thanks to Lisa Cox at the Oregon DEQ, who took me in as an intern at the last minute, was my guide to the wild world of water quality, and also got me involved with the amazing OASE program. Everyone I met with this summer helped to show me what true professionalism looks like, and that is something I’ll remember.

Another take-away for me is a greater understanding of the complexity of conservation projects and some of the particular challenges of applied science. I’ve had a chance to learn about how conservation projects can get started, how they sometimes get funded, how they’re affected by politics and the relationships between conservation agencies and other stakeholders, and how much work and expertise is needed to get one off the ground. To me navigating all these layers seems trickier than the science in many ways, and equally as important if the goal is to have a positive effect on our environment. I’ve developed a growing respect for the people with the skills and experience to do good work in the thorny world of policy and legislation. Maybe I’ll be one of them someday.

I’m also very happy to have had the opportunity to learn about the Oregon Applied Sustainability Experience. This program partners Oregon businesses with students from a variety of fields with a goal of reducing waste, improving efficiency, helping with certification processes, and generally working to improve environmental outcomes. As part of my video project on the OASE program, I’ve had a chance to meet a few of the interns and business owners, and it’s been a great experience to get to know this passionate, bright, and innovative group of people. Each time I’ve visited the interns at their work I always end up with a big smile on my face. Special thanks to Connor Nolan, Alexi Overland, Angel Contreras Cruz, and to POSS, Defunkify, and the Oregon Soap Company for letting me point my camera around and for sharing your experiences with me.

Looking back, this summer feels like it’s gone amazingly fast. Two weeks from now I’ll have my head buried in a textbook again, and the longed-for rain will probably not be far behind. I hope the changing of the seasons will bring with it peace and understanding for us all. Thanks for reading this, I had a great experience this summer, and I’m happy I got this chance to share it with you.

P.S Can’t forget a picture of my helper :)

Final Weeks

So, we made it! It’s been a very strange year and under the circumstances, it makes me especially grateful that I’ve been able to be a part of this program. I’m particularly thankful for the Sea Grant team and my mentors at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW).

In these upcoming weeks, I have my last translations to work on which feels bittersweet. My lexicon with shellfish and estuarine ecology has grown a lot; it’s easy to see how far I’ve progressed with my documents as mile markers. I have a much better understanding about the shellfish populations in coastal Oregon and how important it is to the community on a recreational and commercial level. I’ve also been working with a SEACOR team member on best practices while using R, she’s been a huge help.

A final focus of mine is a better look on how projects are funded. My mentor Dr. D’Andrea is showing me his previous proposals and explaining the process. As a hopeful scientist, this information will be necessary when my own projects need to be funded as well as understanding why some topics are rigorously studied while others may not be prioritized.

Last Thoughts

I reflected a little bit in my previous post on how great the resources at Sea Grant are and the many benefits but the best part was learning about Oregon. I’ve really appreciated the larger perspective I’ve gained in resource management and the role of science in a community. I’m finishing this internship even more keen to go to Oregon.

In the future, I hope to be attending graduate school studying biological oceanography or marine ecology. Coming in, I had this goal but it’s been solidified and seems more attainable to reach. As for those interested in this program, I highly recommend it. The Sea Grant team wants each one of the Scholars to succeed and they will help wherever they can.

Finally, thank you for reading and for contributing to my experiences this summer.

It’s hard to believe that it’s already September and that the end of the year is fast approaching. Over the last few months we’ve made significant progress on development of a Conservation Plan (CP) for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery describing the various efforts and management measures being implemented to reduce the risk of marine life entanglements off Oregon. To date, much of our work has focused on drafting descriptions of the fishery and protected whale and turtle species. Additionally, we have been working to refine our methods for assessing the anticipated incidental take of those species that may be expected to occur under the CP.

In the coming weeks, we will shift gears and tackle another key component of the CP which describes the adaptive management components that are an integral part of the overall CP strategy. Adaptive management is a tool that is commonly used, particularly for large-scale systems, to address uncertainty in conservation planning. This uncertainty may stem from limited data or information on the ecology of the species or its habitat, or from lack of clarity about the effectiveness of various management techniques and their potential impacts on the species. A direct relationship exists between the level of biological uncertainty for a species and the degree of risk that an incidental take permit (ITP) could pose for that species (USFWS and NMFS, 2016).

With regards to whale entanglement and conservation planning across the West Coast, various efforts are taking place by state and federal fishery managers, scientists, researchers, industry members, and other stakeholders to fill some of the critical information gaps in order to effectively address this issue. In Oregon, this includes work to better understand seasonal whale distribution off our coast (see my last post here), analyses to estimate the potential impacts (i.e., reduction in pot-days; a metric equal to one pot fished for one day) of proposed management measures, and collaboration across the West Coast to consider the effectiveness and feasibility of alternative management techniques (e.g., gear modifications or configurations).

The development of a complete CP and ITP application is slated to be finished and ready for submission to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) this winter. While we are working hard to ensure that this CP includes the best available information, many of the efforts to better understand and respond to this issue will still be underway when an ITP is applied for. It is for this reason that adaptive management is such a crucial element.

The CP handbook borrows from the 2009 Department of the Interior Adaptive Management Technical Guide to describe adaptive management as follows (Williams et al., 2009):

An adaptive approach involves exploring alternative ways to meet management objectives, predicting the outcomes of alternatives based on the current state of knowledge, implementing one or more of these alternatives, monitoring to learn about the impacts of management actions, and then using the results to update knowledge and adjust management actions. Adaptive management focuses on learning and adapting, through partnerships of managers, scientist, and other stakeholders who learn together how to create and maintain sustainable resource systems.

As this description points out, partnerships and collaboration are essential to developing an effective adaptive management approach. To this end, adaptive measures will be a key topic at our upcoming crab industry public meetings which will take place in October. At these meetings, we hope to provide information and solicit feedback from industry to design an approach that both minimizes impacts to the fishery, while maximizing the conservation benefit provided to endangered and/or threatened species. Through additional collaboration with NMFS, we will refine this strategy to ensure that it meets the necessary standards.

While this is certainly going to be one of the more challenging components of the CP process, I look forward to seeing much of the work that I have been doing over the last few months come together into a refined strategy that is responsive to new or changing information and circumstances.

References

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service. 2016. Habitat conservation planning and incidental take permit processing handbook. 405 pp.

Williams, B. L., Szaro, R. C., and Shapiro, C. D. 2009. Adaptive management: the U.S. Department of the Interior Technical Guide. Adaptive Management Working Group, 84 pp.

Reflections

I’ve been learning a lot about myself in this internship. With the pandemic, I had to adapt to the constraints of my current project and how to work remotely. I’m now equipped with the knowledge of what works and what doesn’t while working independently, and while this situation persists, this will definitely help me in future endeavors.

In the latter half of my internship, I’ve been continuously working on each new document quicker than the ones from the beginning. Learning about estuarine and marine issues in English and Spanish has made me a more culturally aware scientist. I believe that this may help me in the future to connect with people and places that couldn’t have been reached otherwise.

Upcoming

I’ve gotten more comfortable with the demands of translation and can now focus on my R training. I’m happy to be meeting with SEACOR team members to work through best practices and understand how they use R as a tool. It’s been great having the time and support to develop important professional skills.

Coming up next on the translation front is a document that is of priority to SEACOR and seems heftier than the previous brochures I’ve had to work on. I’m looking forward to the challenge. Although time seems to be going faster now that I’ve settled into my role, I’ve still got a lot to look forward to in my internship and I’m excited for what’s coming next.

My advice for upcoming Scholars with Sea Grant

Some of my best moments in this experience came from attending lots of webinars. So many people are farther ahead on the scientific track and their insight can prevent you from making the same mistake they did. Also, I happen to think the webinars are very interesting as well!

I’m glad that I was able to set up some meetings with the Scholars and bond even though the pandemic has made this quite difficult. I hope to connect with the people I have met even after I’m finished with this experience.

If I were to start this internship over, I would take more advantage of the resources the Sea Grant provides. Don’t be afraid to ask if you need help. As I am going through grad school applications, I wished I asked for more support for the Sea Grant staff however I’m changing this while I still have time left!

Thanks for reading!