NEWSROOM
LSU
Student Receives Marine Economics Fellowship
March 11, 2005
|
LSU
doctoral student Tina Willson. |
Louisiana
State University doctoral student Tina Willson is one of only
two students in the country to receive a 2005 National Marine
Fisheries Service/Sea Grant Joint Fellowship in Marine Resource
Economics.
Willson begins her
dissertation and NMFS/Sea Grant fellowship in June with Dr. James
Waters, who leads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s
Southeast Economic Research Team at Beaufort, N.C. She plans to
complete her doctorate in agriculture economics at LSU in spring
2007.
Willson’s dissertation
and fellowship will focus on managing open-ocean, mercury-contaminated
fisheries. “Fishermen sometimes joke, calling some fish
species ‘swimming thermometers,’ but that just shows
the level of nervousness they have with the mercury problem,”
she said. “The public policy and health issues surrounding
mercury contamination are important, especially considering that
many fish consumers are the most vulnerable members of society
— pregnant women and children.
“Under Dr. Waters’
mentorship, I aim to add an economic model to the existing biological
model for the king and Spanish mackerel fisheries in the South
Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico,” added Willson. “The
situation is ripe for an economist to contribute to the development
of a fisheries management policy.”
The NMFS/Sea Grant
Joint Fellowship Program is designed to help Sea Grant fulfill
its educational responsibilities and strengthen collaborations
between the two organizations.
Environmental stewardship,
long-term economic development and responsible use of America’s
coastal resources are at the heart of Sea Grant’s mission.
NMFS is dedicated to the stewardship of living marine resources
through science-based conservation and management, and the promotion
of healthy ecosystems.
Louisiana Sea Grant, based at LSU, is part of the National Sea
Grant Program, a network made up of 32 programs located in each
of the coastal and Great Lakes states and Puerto Rico/U.S. Virgin
Islands. Sea Grant Programs work individually and in partnership
to address major marine and coastal challenges.
Fellowship recipients must be U.S. citizens enrolled in a doctoral
program in the United States or one of its territories.
“This fellowship
is an amazing opportunity for me to see firsthand the kind of
work required to be a researcher at NMFS and gain valuable experience
in the field of marine resource economics. The knowledge I’ll
gain will prepare me for a successful research career in either
academia or government,” Willson said.
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