Country: USA
Joshua is an Assistant Professor of Marine Policy in the School of Marine Sciences at the University of Maine. His research focuses on questions about coastal community resilience, seafood distribution, ocean governance, and fisheries policy and seeks to contribute to the sustainability of our oceans and the communities that depend upon them. He holds a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Bates College, a Masters in Coastal Environmental Management from Duke University, and a PhD in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine. Prior to returning to Maine to join the faculty, he was an early career research fellow in the Global Economic Dynamics and the Biosphere Program at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences in Sweden.
His research group is broadly interested in questions about the design and maintenance of institutions (formal and informal) that support sustainable fisheries and the communities that depend on them. Towards this objective, they work on a range of interdisciplinary research projects related to ecosystem-based fisheries management, seafood distribution and trade, community resilience, risk, and adaptation, and aquaculture. In 2011, Joshua helped found the Local Catch Network (LCN). LCN is a community-of-practice made up of several hundred fishers, organizers, researchers, technical assistance providers, and engaged citizens from across North America who are committed to providing local, healthful, low-impact seafood via community supported fisheries and direct marketing arrangements in order to support healthy fisheries and the communities that depend on them. More information about the network is available here: https://localcatch.org/.
Q. What are you currently working on within the context of small-scale fisheries?
My group is engaged in interdisciplinary and applied research related to sustainable fisheries, marine and coastal governance, food systems, and social-ecological dynamics. Our research is informed by real-world engagement with marine resource users, coastal community stakeholders, and policymakers. Much of our work is based in Maine, where opportunities for regular and ongoing collaboration is most possible, but we are also always looking for opportunities to collaborate with and learn from others in other parts of the world.
