Chief Convening Officer, Gulf of Maine Research Institute
The 21st century has brought with it new and revitalized efforts to conduct fisheries research that involves scientists and fishermen as research partners. Collaborative research (or cooperative research) has taken hold in New England. This practice puts scientists on board fishing vessels to gain from the knowledge of fishermen and to utilize fishing boats as research platforms. The combination of the scientific community's method and credibility with the fishing community's knowledge of the marine ecosystem and marine operations has dramatically increased the quality and quantity of information available to support marine resource management decisions. This industry-science collaboration has effected change in several ways, including contributing new information to directly address current fishery management questions. Successful collaborative research requires special skills in engaging the scientific and fishing community in a new dialogue of shared learning. This lecture will address how to work through the challenges of developing and implementing a successful collaborative research partnership, highlight the creative possibilities these new partnerships can bring to fisheries research, and review the key elements of some recent effective collaborative research partnerships in New England.
Laura Taylor Singer has been working at the nexus among scientists, fishermen and managers throughout her entire career in fisheries policy. In 2001, she joined the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) to manage its collaborative fisheries research program. After three years of expanding the portfolio of collaborative research projects, she now serves as GMRI's Chief Convening Officer for 'Community Programs'. Prior to GMRI, Laura was the Special Assistant to the Commissioner for the Maine Department of Marine Resources focusing on the evolving lobster zone management council process, and co-management initiatives to encourage industry participation and stewardship in fisheries management. Laura's accomplishments include other key marine policy initiatives, including limited entry in the lobster industry and development of legislation to address emerging fisheries in the Maine Legislature.
Laura is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford and was awarded a Thomas J. Watson Fellowship in 1990 to study marine pollution within island nations (Mediterranean, Caribbean, and Pacific Oceans). Laura completed a MS in coastal environmental management at Duke University (1994).
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