Profiles In Fishing

What does the word "sustainable" mean to you?

Sustainability means maintaining healthy ecosystems and growth patterns that will allow generations ahead of me to experience and enjoy what I do today. Here at NOAA we want to make sure that our nation's marine resources (most notably our fisheries) our maintained at healthy and productive levels so that they can be enjoyed and consumed well into the future. Healthy habitats are one cornerstone of sustainable fisheries management - healthy habitats allow fish to grow, survive, and reproduce. Here at NOAA's Restoration Center, we work closely with other offices to understand which habitats need protection, and how proposed development could affect these habitats. We evaluate how degraded habitats can be returned to a more natural state, and implement actions to restore these habitats. All of our efforts are working towards maintaining and sustaining healthy marine resources. In other words, we work to make habitats sustainable so that fisheries are sustainable, too.

What is your role in the sustainable management of U.S. Fisheries?

I work for the NOAA Restoration Center and I focus on helping communities and organizations restore fish habitats. There are many opportunities to restore degraded habitats to a more natural state so that there are healthy populations of fish, marine mammals, and other resources in these habitats. For example, I work with to help restore coral reefs that have been impacted by vessel groundings. Within our program we have many different kinds of projects from removing dams, planting sea grasses, to huge projects where we build wetlands. It is very exciting to find out when fish come back to areas where we have restored habitats.

Why is your role so important?

My role as a habitat restoration specialist is a critical support role contributing to sustainable fisheries management. Without enough healthy habitat it would be hard for many fish to survive. My role is also important because I work with so many partners and local communities who are also a critical part of the fisheries management process. Over the years we have learned that we need to do more than mange how people fish, but we need to manage resources on the ecosystem level, my job is just one small part of complex solution that involves everyone who enjoys, works in, or live around our oceans.