The future and sustainability of our region’s fisheries depends on collaboration. By cultivating meaningful partnerships to support effective research we can develop more efficient fishing gear, better data, and stronger markets.
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch wants to hear from the region’s fisheries stakeholders. Your input is key to creating a strategic, forward-thinking program that builds community and develops effective cooperative research projects.
Data collection for ongoing research and monitoring was a challenge throughout 2020. Individuals and institutions worked to adapt techniques—and expectations—to a new set of physical restrictions combating the spread of COVID-19.
To share with and learn from our partners, we organized two webinars in early 2021. They focused on how scientists and industry partners adapted projects and leveraged self-reported data collection strategies to continue conducting science during a global health crisis. The information exchange by scientists and industry partners revealed many common experiences and lessons learned.
Despite the new challenges that scientists and industry partners had to work through during the COVID-19 pandemic, the sentiment at both webinars was optimistic. Around 175 fisheries professionals fueled an engaging discussion that was well received. Attendees and presenters represented a resourceful and highly motivated community dedicated to conducting cooperative research that benefits all stakeholders.
The first webinar, titled “Cooperative Research Field Work in a Pandemic,” was held on February 25, 2021. It featured four projects that safely completed field work aboard commercial fishing vessels during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second webinar in the series, titled “Filling the Gaps with Self-Reported Data,” was held on March 4, 2021. It featured four projects that engage fishermen in collecting catch, effort, biological, and environmental data to help fill spatial and temporal gaps.
Find out more about our presenters.
The presenters shared their approaches to adapting field work during COVID-19. All of these protocols kept research teams safe and healthy while they collected scientific information critical to managing the region’s fisheries.
They shared ten keys to conducting cooperative research field work during the COVID-19 pandemic:
The presenters shared their experiences with collecting and applying self-reported data during the COVID-19 pandemic, from using novel training and support tools to advanced analytics.
They shared ten insights into conducting cooperative research projects during the pandemic:
We will host two cooperative research summits in late 2021. One summit will be held in New England (Providence, Rhode Island) and the other will be held in the Mid-Atlantic (Virginia). These one-day summits will bring together scientists, managers, fishermen, and industry representatives to:
The summits are also intended to facilitate regional coordination of cooperative research and development of new partnerships.
In the fall of 2019, we hosted a series of stakeholder engagement sessions. They gathered fishermen and research partners together to discuss research ideas and priorities for future projects, and to share past research successes and lessons learned. One priority that emerged from these sessions was a need to facilitate regional coordination of cooperative research and the development of new partnerships.
After our engagement sessions, we summarized the results across sessions and compiled them into a report. The report analyzed stakeholder suggestions on approaches and research priorities. It also explains our plan to pilot annual stakeholder summits in the region to strengthen our ties with partners in cooperative research.
Get the full report here:
Cooperative Research in the Northeast Region: Stakeholder Priorities (PDF, 13 pages) - Download File
Restored shoreline along Lake St. Clair at Brandenburg Park. Credit: NOAA Fisheries.
Four North Atllantic right whales.
Powderhorn Lake. Credit: Luke Franke.
A Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologist collecting data during buoyless lobster trap tests.
