November 2009 Newsletter
Sea Grant Spotlight: Tiffany Smythe
Not many people can say they’ve sailed from the Gulf of Maine to the Eastern Caribbean and hold a 100-ton U.S. Coast Guard captain’s license. Tiffany Smythe can, and she brings a wealth of experience and knowledge from a 10-year career as a professional sailing instructor and a classroom teacher to her role as a coastal management extension specialist with Rhode Island Sea Grant and the URI Coastal Resources Center (CRC).
As a coastal extension specialist, Tiffany has been instrumental in conducting research and outreach support for the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, an ecosystem-based marine spatial planning project, and focuses primarily on fisheries, marine transportation, and recreational boating.
Tiffany said that her previous experiences as a teacher and instructor has helped her develop outreach and education skills that allow her to effectively communicate with various groups, from fishermen and sailorsto the Coast Guard, in order to share information about coastal science and policy and to respond to stakeholder input.
“I like working with different stakeholders,” she said, noting that it’s rewarding to apply research and data into the policy process.“I would like to see the Rhode Island OceanSpecial Area Management Plan through to completion, then to share information on one of the first marine spatial plans with others outside of Rhode Island.”
Tiffany joined Rhode Island Sea Grant and CRC in 2008 after being a full-time graduate student at URI, where she earned a Master’s degree in Marine Affairs, a National Science Foundation Coastal Institute IGERT Project Doctoral Fellowship, and where she is currently pursuing a Ph.D in Marine Affairs focusing on the capacity of decision-makers to collaborate across jurisdictions and disciplines in order to implement an ecosystem-based management approach.
When she’s not working on her dissertation or figuring out how to create GIS maps for recreational uses, Tiffany is training for her first marathon in New York City and continues to volunteer as sailing instructor aboard training ships.
Rhode Island Sea Grant director new co-chair of Aquaculture without Frontiers
Rhode Island Sea Grant Director Barry Costa-Pierce is one of two new co-chairs appointed by the international non-profit Aquaculture without Frontiers (AwF). This announcement came during a board meeting held on 26 September 2009 during the World Aquaculture Society conference in Veracruz, Mexico.
M.C. Nandeesha of the Centre for Aquaculture Research and Development, St. Xavier’s Bishramganj, Tripura, India, was announced as the other co-chair. Nandeesha and Costa-Pierce have known one another for over 20 years, having worked extensively in smallholder aquaculture projects throughout developing countries. At the board meeting, Nandeesha said, “I hope that with this opportunity we’ll be able to help the poor of the world with technologies to break the poverty cycle.” Costa-Pierce expressed enthusiasm for the opportunity to work with Nandeesha.
For more information see the AwF website at www.aquaculturewithoutfrontiers.org.
Susan Farady, Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program director, presents ocean policy talks
Rhode Island Sea Grant Legal Program Director Susan Farady was invited to speak to the undergraduate class at SEA Semester in Woods Hole, Mass., and the Marine Affairs Seminar at the University of Rhode Island. In October, Farady presented on “Ocean Management and Reform: Stratton to Oceans 21,” reviewing the history of ocean policy and highlighting recent activities in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and the President’s Interagency Ocean Task Force.
On September 24, Farady presented her testimony in Providence at the only public hearing on the East Coast, convened by the task force in response to Presidential Memorandum that calls for the development of a national ocean policy and implementing strategies. The memorandum established the interagency task force that will provide recommendations to the President.
Her testimony is available at law.rwu.edu/sites/marineaffairs/news/.
EVENTS
Nov. 2-4, 2009
8th Annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium: Ecology of Marine Wind Farms: Perspectives on Impact Mitigation, Siting, and Future Uses
Rhode Island Sea Grant is hosting the eighth annual Ronald C. Baird Sea Grant Science Symposium in Newport, Rhode Island from November 2-4, where international experts will convene to weigh in on the potential impacts of offshore wind farms proposed in Rhode Island.
“This symposium will cover the future of ocean areas being considered for wind farms and all of the opportunities for green jobs and enhanced ocean economies that will impact the future of the world´s coasts and marine ecosystems for our children and grandchildren,” said Barry A. Costa-Pierce, director of Rhode Island Sea Grant, which hosts the annual science symposium.
International experts in wind energy, biotechnologies, seafoods, fisheries, aquaculture, and marine policy from several businesses, universities, and institutions including Deepwater Wind, the Ocean Conservancy, the Marine Policy Center at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, NOAA Fisheries Service, the R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, Fishermen’s Energy, The Ocean Foundation, and the Minerals Management Service will discuss innovative methods for the integration of future uses into marine wind farm areas.
Nov. 5, 2009
Ecological implications of offshore renewable development
The Ocean SAMP team is hosting a discussion of the ecological implications of offshore renewable energy development with Dr. Andrew Gill from the School of Applied Sciences, Cranfield University, U.K. on November 5th from 6:00 – 8:00pm on the Bay Campus in the Hazards Rooms A and B.
Andrew Gill has 20 years of experience as a fish and fisheries ecologist. He has been instrumental in developing large scale experimental studies with a particular aim of determining the way in which fish and other aquatic organisms interact with their human dominated environment. Gill’s research is contributing to our better understanding of the ecological impact of offshore renewable energy developments and he has advised on a number of projects, both UK-wide and internationally. Currently, he is the marine and aquatic editor of the international journal Biological Conservation. He is a member of a number of scientific advisory committees and panels associated with aquatic ecology and conservation science.
At this meeting Dr. Gill will give a brief presentation and then we will encourage open discussion.
Please feel free to share this invitation with others who might be interested – all are welcome to attend. Please RSVP to Sue Kennedy (skennedy@crc.uri.edu, 874-6107) by November 2nd if you are planning to join us.
Nov. 10, 2009
Roger Williams University School of Law/University of Rhode Island Faculty Dinner
The semi-annual faculty dinner for the URI’s Marine Affairs faculty and RWU’s marine and maritime faculty will be held on November 10, 2009, at the University of Rhode Island. These dinners provide opportunities for faculty to convene and share ideas, while learning about each other’s scholarship. Prof. Seth Macinko from URI will be the evening’s speaker, presenting a talk on his fisheries work.
Meet the Bay Field Trip
An intrepid group of law students braved some wet New England weather recently. The boat trip held on Friday, September 11, for incoming first year students aboard the University of Rhode Island research vessel, the Cap’n Bert, was a great success, providing students a hands-on opportunity to become more familiar with the aquatic life of Narragansett Bay.
Coastweeks Comes to an End
We’d like to thank everyone who got out and participated in this year’s Coastweeks! It was a great success with new faces and coastal adventures! Please continue to get out and celebrate the coast throughout the year. For more information please visit us at http://seagrant.gso.uri.edu/Coastweeks/ or email mhaas@gso.uri.edu.
