Bridget Ferriss

I am a marine ecologist interested in how fish interact with their surrounding environment, and how understanding these relationships can contribute to sustainable fisheries management. I received my B.Sc. in biological oceanography from the University of British Columbia, and a Masters in Marine Affairs and a Ph.D. in Aquatic and Fisheries Sciences from the University of Washington. I currently work at NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center in various efforts to advance ecosystem-based fisheries management. I am lead editor for the Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Status Report, which is an annual synthesis of the status of the Gulf of Alaska marine ecosystem communicated to the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to inform their harvest-setting process. My current research includes using a modeling approach to better understand how marine systems respond to varying harvest scenarios and environmental conditions. Through this work and research I have become more engaged in related topics, such as methods of synthesis across multiple types of data and communities of knowledge holders, communication of science to management and the public, and the opportunities and challenges of ecosystem-based fisheries management.