Internship with World Wildlife Fund

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For my internship, I will be working for the fisheries division of the World Wildlife Fund Oceans team to develop a report that looks into participatory processes and governance mechanisms worldwide that successfully help fisheries achieve the Marine Stewardship Council Certificate. The MSC Certificate is the gold standard for sustainable seafood, and this type of label can open new markets for fisheries that can earn the label through better management practices. The report I’m working on aims to aid the WWF Peru team in their consultancy with the Peruvian government on the next steps toward sustainable fisheries and gaining the MSC label on their seafood exports. My job is to gather examples of governments worldwide that have successfully implemented the MSC standard into their fisheries, and the management processes they used to engage with stakeholders. The Peru team will then use these examples to work with the government to develop a more sustainable fishery that will benefit their country both socially and economically. The main goal of this report is to show the Peruvian government the benefits of investing in their fisheries and seeking out sustainable labels like the Marine Stewardship Council Certificate. 

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World Wildlife Fund/Pacific Ocean Energy Trust

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This summer, I decided to embark on two ambitious fellowships! I’m splitting my time between the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Oceans team and Pacific Ocean Energy Trust (POET). For WWF, I’m working with Vishwanie Maharaj, Director of the Multilateral Fisheries/Tuna Project to conduct an analysis of how the upcoming Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction treaty can be adapted to better protect tuna stocks and fishing communities, in addition to providing policy development support for other multilateral fisheries discussions at the diplomatic level. This involves working with representatives from several foreign governments’ fisheries departments and NOAA International Affairs to better ascertain current policy gaps in multilateral fisheries discussions.

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Making the case for high seas protection through a cultural heritage lens.

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This summer I have been working with the Coral Reefs of the High Seas Coalition, a group of expert scientists, policy-makers, lawyers, and others advocating for the creation of a High Seas Treaty to protect critical marine habitat outside of national jurisdiction. Specifically, my work has focused on two series of seamounts between Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and the coast of Chile called the Salas y Gómez and Nazca Ridges. Both ridges are predominantly outside of national jurisdiction and therefore have no overarching management regime that could create a Marine Protected Area (MPAs) around these ecologically and biologically significant marine areas.

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Blue Carbon Research for The Nature Conservancy and Center for the Blue Economy

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This summer I chose to take on two fellowships. Although this has proven to be a tremendous amount of work, I am learning so much and the experience has been very fulfilling thus far. Because of the pandemic, I am currently writing this from my ‘office…’ also known as my dining room table in Ocean City, Maryland. The best part about this office is the close proximity to the refrigerator, coffee maker, and the cat and two dogs that come with it.

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Tabitha's Litter Cleanup

Protecting our Oceans from Inland

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For my summer fellowship, I am working with the Inland Ocean Coalition (IOC) to develop their Watershed Health Program. As an education and policy-focused advocacy platform, IOC works to build land-to-sea stewardship within inland communities across the nation, showing how they too have a voice in the health and protection of our oceans. The development of the Watershed Health Program will start with projects to create educational content for the public about the importance of watershed health and the implications of poorly protected water resources. The program will then show the public how they can protect their local and national watersheds by participating in creek cleanups and speaking with their representatives to ensure their watersheds’ interests are protected and represented.

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Research Assistant at the Whale Shark and Oceanic Research Center in Utila, Honduras

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Utila is a small island, totaling only 17 sq. kilometers, off the Caribbean coast of Honduras. This island is the smallest of the three main Bay Islands. Utila is famous for being a whale shark “hot spot”, a location where whale sharks, the biggest fish in the world, have been sighted year-round. The waters around the island boast a high concentration of marine biodiversity largely due to the surrounding Mesoamerican Reefs that are a part of the second-largest reef system in the world, after the Great Barrier Reef.

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