The FAST Lab has a wide variety of research, field work, publications, and outreach going on at all times. Keep up to date with the FAST Lab Newsletter!
Indigenous Peoples Day
Indigenous Peoples Day was Monday, October 8th. Alaska was the second state in the nation to recognize Indigenous Peoples Day, and replaces Columbus Day. Members of the FAST Lab, Alaska Pacific University, its partners and attendees celebrated this important day with ceremony, dancing, food and inspiring, powerful Alaska Native speakers. Shown in the first two photos are dancers from the Alaska Native Heritage Center performing for the Indigenous Peoples Day celebration here at APU, and some of the delicious food that was served – fry bread and reindeer soup. We commemorate and recognize the history, diverse culture and contributions of Indigenous people. As Governor Walker said during his address at the celebration, “We have come a long way, but have a long way to go still.” Change comes with building relationships and embracing differing epistemology and ways of knowing. A new era of unity is emerging, as seen in the rise of interdisciplinary approaches through convergence of environmental and social sciences and includes transformative changes in the way fisheries are managed. In working with our partners at Nanwalek (shown in the bottom right photo), an Alaska Native community, we aim to utilize a multidisciplinary approach to provide insight to community-driven questions and concerns regarding their sockeye salmon fishery. APU president Dr. Bob Onders visited the community of Nanwalek along with members of the FAST Lab in May of this year, shown in the bottom left photo. We look forward to continual collaborations and a long-lasting partnership! Quyana, Quyanaq, Chin’an, Qagaasakung, Gunalchéesh, and thank you! We hope you all had a good Indigenous Peoples Day!
National Seafood Month
FAST Lab grad student Victoria Batter sent a beautiful photo of rockfish tacos that she made this summer – yum!
Did you know that October is National Seafood Month? On top of that, Alaska Governor Bill walker has declared October to also be Alaska Seafood Month, and the 25th of October to be Alaska Commercial Fishing Day. We are all definitely big fans of seafood here at the FAST Lab, and have been sharing our recipes on our Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter feeds, so check them out there!
Olé – Opportunities for Lifelong Education
The FAST Lab continued their presentations with Olé (Opportunities for Lifelong Education). If you didn’t catch our posts on Instagram and Facebook last week, Olé is a local nonprofit affiliated with the University of Alaska Anchorage, and provides opportunities for adults to continue learning together. We are currently instructing a course titled Topics in Current Alaska Fisheries Research.
Brad (Dr. Harris) kicked off the course last week with an overview of the research being conducted in the lab. Last week, graduate students Brianna King, Laura Junge, and Brian Ritchie continued the course today with their presentations on their thesis projects (“Getting to the bottom of Seafloor Contact in the Commercial Fishing Gear”, “Investigating the Spatial and Temporal Data Sources for Aleutian Island Pacific Cod”, and Spatiotemporal Structure of Size-at-age and Diet of Pacific Halibut in the Gulf of Alaska”, respectively).
This is our 3rd week of presenting on different research topics in the FAST lab. Thursday, Cory Lescher, Anita Kroska, and Ben Jevons presented on their projects (“Catch Accounting of Trawl-caught Red King Crab in the Bering Sea”, “Exploring the Use of Slime to Understand Stress in Pacific Halibut”, and “Exploring the Trophic Position and Ecology of Giant Pacific Octopus Bycatch in Alaska”, respectively). Once again, the audience had great questions for all of our presenters.
“I can’t believe the fascinating variety of topics you guys cover!” commented one audience member. We look forward to our final round of presentations from Kelsey Bockelman, Victoria Batter, and Karli Tyance will present on their work (“Examining Benthic Features in the Eastern Bering Sea”, “Optical Assessment of Scallop Density and Abundance Off Kodiak Island”, and “Merging Scientific and Traditional Ecological Knowledge: Sockeye Salmon Management,” respectively), taking place next Thursday.
FAST Lab Joins Twitter!
The FAST Lab is now officially on Twitter! Follow us @ak_fast_lab.
