NEW ENGLAND DISTRICT - ROUND TABLE DISCUSSION AND SOCIAL WITH DR. JOHN MANDERSON​

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November 2019

New Bedford, MA

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The New England district hosted a roundtable discussion and social event with a seminar by Dr. John Manderson from Open Ocean Research, who described the challenges and opportunities associated with incorporating Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge into fisheries management and stock assessment.  John’s seminar provided an excellent catalyst for the roundtable discussion, which centered around the value of collaborative research.  During the group discussion, AIFRB members shared their perspectives on working with the fishing industry, including the benefits that can be derived by collaborating with fishermen, and the unique challenges that cooperative research can create.  Some of the major themes that emerged from the discussion include:

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• As a best practice, graduate students should take the initiative to engage knowledgeable fishermen that target the species they are studying.  Establishing a relationship with industry will provide students with valuable context for their research, and offer unique perspectives that may assist in the development of hypotheses and interpretation of results.

• The greatest benefits of collaborative research are derived when the industry is consistently engaged in the science, from the design of the study through the interpretation of the results.  Email can be an effective tool to sustain engagement with industry partners.

• There is often a stigma surrounding collaborative research, which researchers can overcome by being transparent and publishing their results.

• Even if the results of cooperative research are not used directly for stock assessment, it can help to investigate validity of the major model assumptions.

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