News 2014: UMass Dartmouth SMAST faculty chairs international working group on scallops

Professor and Researcher Dr. Kevin Stokesbury serves as chair of Scallop Assessment Working Group in Nantes, France

Professor and Researcher Dr. Kevin Stokesbury of UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) served as chair of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) Scallop Assessment Working Group this month in Nantes, France. The meeting was the second of three annual meetings held by ICES.

Among the topics the working group addressed at the meeting were distribution of fishing efforts and landings for scallop inshore and offshore waters, exploring the development of a common data base, identification of stock assessment and management units, stock assessment methods and evaluation of indicators of stock status and identification of reference points, data provision and feasibility of obtaining data, efficacy of scallop fisheries management measures of scallop harvesting on habitat and habitat recovery rates.

ICES is a global organization, with a network of more than 4000 scientists, from almost 300 institutes. As an intergovernmental organization with twenty member countries across the North Atlantic, its main objective is to increase the scientific knowledge of the marine environment and its living resources and to use this knowledge to advance science and education for ocean sustainability.

The focus at SMAST is on interdisciplinary basic-to-applied marine sciences and the development of related innovative technologies. In addition to the scholarly marine science and technology communities, the SMAST mission also emphasizes interaction with regional industry, and government and non-governmental agencies on compelling regional marine-related issues and technological development.