- Ph.D. Fisheries Oceanography, University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science
- M.Sc. Fisheries Oceanography, University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science
- B.Sc. Fisheries and Wildlife Science, Texas A&M University
I really like maps. The processes driving the spatial structure of living natural resources have always intrigued me. My work focuses on investigating how the resources and conditions present in an area influence the occupancy and life history of individual organisms, their population dynamics, and their community interactions. I am particularly interested in the roles that anthropogenic and natural disturbance play in these processes at landscape scales. This is multidisciplinary work and spans a wide array of fields including quantitative spatial modeling, population abundance and stock assessment, disease ecology, physical oceanography, fishing gear conservation engineering, aquatic habitat mapping, and natural resource law and policy.
I was lucky enough to be born and raised near Homer, Alaska. Prior to entering academia, I commercially fished salmon in Prince William Sound and Upper Cook Inlet, served aboard an Alaska Department of Fish & Game research vessel, and captained an oil spill response vessel in the Beaufort Sea. Now I have the privilege of directing the Fisheries, Aquatic Science, & Technology (FAST) Laboratory at Alaska Pacific University where I get to work with a team of excellent scientists and highly motivated graduate students. I teach (or have taught) courses in marine biology and fieldwork, ichthyology, fisheries ecology, marine epidemiology, spatial statistics, and natural resource law and policy. My work has given me the opportunity to study some incredible marine systems including the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and the mid-Atlantic, the Gulf of Alaska, Cook Inlet, the Aleutian Islands, the Bering Sea, Norton Sound, and the Beaufort Sea. One of the most fulfilling aspects of my job is working collaboratively with commercial fishing industry members to tackle tough scientific questions.
I hold a B.Sc. in Wildlife and Fisheries Science from Texas A&M University, and a M.Sc. and a Ph.D. in Fisheries Oceanography from the University of Massachusetts. I am an Associate Professor at Alaska Pacific University, an Honorary Fellow at Ulster University in Northern Ireland, UK, and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Massachusetts School of Marine Sciences. I’m a member of the Bering Sea Fishery Ecosystem Plan Team, North Pacific Fisheries Management Council. I serve on the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the Working Group on Scallop Assessment of the International Council for Exploration of the Sea, and the Working Group on Fishing Technology and Fish Behavior of International Council for Exploration of the Sea / Food and Agriculture Organization.
I live in Anchorage, Alaska, with my wife (Carrie), our three boys (West, Bendigo, and Beckett), and a Chihuahua named Buddy.
