August to November of my John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship was non-stop. I have been learning about international fisheries policy in my placement within NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection Program all year and it was time to see it in action. My travels took me to five countries on three continents for five, very different international meetings.

Using the professional development funds provided by the fellowship, I traveled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in August for the 34^th meeting of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). The conference was directly related to my doctoral thesis work and also tied in with work that NOAA Fisheries does in the Southern Ocean on the United States delegation to the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). Many scientists from other nations’ delegations were also present at the SCAR meeting and it was an incredible opportunity to meet international Antarctic researchers, many of whom I would see two months later in Hobart, Tasmania for the 35^th meeting of CCAMLR.

Lauren in Tasmania, Australia at Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR).

I thought central Illinois and Washington, D.C., were hot and humid during August and that I was well prepared for August in Kuala Lumpur. It turns out that a few higher percentage points of humidity make a huge difference in comfort level. Thankfully my hotel was connected to the convention center, meaning trips outside could be planned strategically. I was also fortunate to be staying at the same hotel as the U.S. delegation to SCAR and they welcomed me into their morning breakfast meetings to learn more about the inner workings of the conference organization.

The conference itself was not only a great way to keep up on the current research in my field of fish physiology but also learn about areas of Antarctic research that I had previously never considered on topics as wide-ranging as algal ecology to architecture and literature. There were a number of panels and sessions devoted to scientific advice for policy which is a topic that is extremely relevant to the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship as well as my role in my fellowship office. Many of the topics discussed would make a second appearance two months later during the CCAMLR meeting.

Malaysia tea plantation

The 2016 CCAMLR meeting in Hobart, Tasmania was an exciting meeting to attend. Many of the species I was familiar with from my doctoral work were discussed in terms of conservation or fisheries catch allocation in regions of the Southern Ocean that I was familiar with. One of my largest projects of my fellowship year was drafting a background paper for the U.S. delegation to present to CCAMLR on incorporating independent review of fisheries stock assessments in the CCAMLR convention area.

I was able to be in attendance as a member of the U.S. delegation and see this paper brought to the floor in front of the 24 member nations and the European Union and discussed. The most exciting event to come out of the meeting, however, was the passing and adopting of the Ross Sea Marine Protected Area, a 1.55 million square kilometer section of the Southern Ocean set aside for conservation. This proposal, which is also the world’s largest marine protected area, was six years in the making and its adoption was met with applause, hugs, and tears from the nearly 250 people in attendance at the meeting. It was an emotional and exciting meeting to be a part of.

My fellowship is coming to an end, but I will be continuing my work with NOAA Fisheries as a full-time employee and foreign affairs specialist beginning on January 23. I am so grateful for the experience and training that this fellowship has provided to me this year.

Please visit the Fellowship and Scholarship page for more opportunities.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

My fascination with water began during my childhood. Growing up under strict water conservation measures in Singapore eventually led to working on nutrient loading issues relating to the Illinois River, and finally to my doctoral research on water quality in Alaska.

I brought all this to the Knauss Fellowship placement week in Washington D.C., where I proudly represented the Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant. Placement week started out with a brief overview of the structure of the House and Senate, and the processes involved in creating and passing legislation.

Then came presentations from the 23 host offices, during which I and the other 11 legislative finalists were introduced to the personal offices of various members of Congress from across the country, and House and Senate committees that directly work on legislation concerning the nation’s oceans, atmosphere, and freshwater resources.

Over the next two and a half days, I interviewed with 20 different host offices. While admittedly they were  grueling, the interviews were also very rewarding. Through them, I learned about key pieces of legislation that impact much of the freshwater and marine resources I had previously worked on. More importantly, the interviews also enabled me to get to meet some of the incredible people serving in Congress as well as their staff, whose work for the benefit of their constituents is truly remarkable. Getting placed in a congressional office could not have been a better end to placement week for me.

I am very excited to be a 2017 Knauss Fellow in the office of California U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman. I highly respect the path Rep. Huffman took before entering office, and the legislation he has sponsored and co-sponsored since then, especially in regard to natural resources. I look forward to directly assisting Rep. Huffman with his work on the House Committee on Natural Resources, with an emphasis on the Water, Power, and Oceans Subcommittee, which has oversight jurisdiction for NOAA fisheries and coastal issues. I also look forward to working with the committee staff, staff from other congressional offices, representatives from industry, non-profit groups, district field staff, and constituents living in California’s 2^nd district.

Additionally, I will serve as the co-director of the bipartisan Congressional Wild Salmon Caucus. Given the grave issues California and the nation are currently facing in terms of water and coastal resources, I am confident that serving as a Knauss Fellow in this office over the next year will teach me a great deal.

Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant is a part of University of Illinois Extension and Purdue Extension.

I have always been interested in fish biology, growing up and scuba diving in Massachusetts, but I became interested in fisheries policy through my graduate work at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

My doctoral research focused on Antarctic fish physiology, specifically the blood antifreeze proteins that these fishes have in order to survive in the extreme cold temperatures of the Southern Ocean.

My dissertation research showed a link between environmental temperature and antifreeze protein activity and concentration in different, commonly caught fish species in the Antarctic. One of the largest Antarctic fish species which possesses antifreeze proteins is the Antarctic toothfish (also known as the Chilean seabass).

We caught just seven of these fish during my first field season, and I learned about the toothfish fishing industry and the international politics regarding Antarctic resource management which falls under the jurisdiction of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR). I wrote grants to study this little-understood fish while at the University of Illinois and tried to learn as much as I could about CCAMLR and the research that goes into making policy decisions.

I am very excited to be a 2016 Knauss Fellow in the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection. I was placed within this office after a grueling but rewarding week of presentations and interviews in Washington, DC. I traveled to DC with 53 other incredible finalists for placement with hosts in the federal government. We heard presentations from the 56 possible host offices on projects ranging from fisheries, satellites, climate change, habitat, and many more. Over the next two and a half days I interviewed with 15 different offices, the majority of which were within NOAA, and by Friday I selected placement in the Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection.

Though I do not know specifically what I will be working on, some of the projects could include the US-Mexico and US-Canada bilateral trade agreements, work with the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, work with CCAMLR, and fishery bycatch policy. I will have a year of intensive international fisheries policy training where I am sure to learn a lot.

Lauren Fields, University of Illinois’ 2016 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow, received her PhD from the Department of Animal Biology at the University of Illinois in May. She started on February 1, 2016 with NOAA in Maryland.

 For more information about the Knauss fellowships and other opportunities, please visit the Fellowship and Scholarship page.

In late November, the 2016 Knauss Fellowship finalists from around the Sea Grant network met in Washington D.C. for a week to sort out where each will be working in the coming year. Over the week, the finalists interview for positions and try to match their skills and interests with agencies and legislators who are also looking for just the right person.

A Purdue University graduate, Sarah Stein will also be involved with NOAA fisheries work. For the year of 2016, she will hold the titles of executive secretariat and fisheries science coordinator in the Fisheries Office of Science and Technology. Sarah also has a rich history studying fisheries, but with a local focus. Her PhD dissertation study was centered on fish recruitment in southern Lake Michigan river mouth habitats.

The National Wildlife Repository is responsible for receiving wildlife items that have been forfeited or abandoned to the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Now that I am half-way through my fellowship year and the next cohort of fellows has been selected, it is time for me to consider my next steps seriously.  I have greatly enjoyed my time so far working with the Service and hope that I will have the opportunity to continue working with the agency, whether it be within the agency or outside as a partner.

Regardless of where I end up in February, I am looking forward to being a part of the Knauss alumni network and maintaining the personal and professional relationships that I’ve developed with my peers in the fellowship.

As the 2014 Knauss season wraps up, IISG-sponsored graduate student Katherine Touzinsky wrote in to update us on her work at the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers since we last heard from her in August. 

The fellowship is now coming to a close, and the tides are changing at work. The open-ended learning ended a few months ago when I committed the majority of my time to a new and exciting project with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. 

Ever since the devastation of 2011, when over 14 weather and climate-related events—Hurricane Sandy being the most noteworthy—resulted in an unprecedented loss of lives and property, many federal agencies have begun their own investigation of climate change and disaster preparedness under the broad headline of “resilience.”

The two IISG-sponsored Knauss Fellows selected for 2015 recently returned from D.C., where they met with other fellows, interviewed with government agencies and offices, and learned where they spend the next year working on water resource and environmental issues. Rachel Gentile, who is completing a PhD in Biological Sciences at Notre Dame, shares her experiences.

My placement is in the office of Rep. Alan Lowenthal (CA-47). I will be assisting with his marine policy portfolio and will also be directing the House Safe Climate Caucus. This means I will be managing the activities of the caucus and assisting with floor speeches, op-eds, and short videos to promote climate change awareness in the House of Representatives. I applied to the Knauss Sea Grant Fellowship because I wanted to assist with discussions concerning marine and climate issues on Capitol Hill, so this placement in Rep. Lowenthal’s office is a dream come true!