URI Graduate School of Oceanography secures
Rockefeller Foundation grant for sustainable fisheries work
From Todd McLeish,
URI
“The Coastal Resources Center is widely respected for its ability to apply world-class ocean science and research to management and policy approaches in solving some of today’s most complex marine and fisheries issues,” GSO Dean Bruce Corliss said. “This grant will allow CRC to continue to share its expertise with groups and institutions working to address critical fisheries needs.”
The Rockefeller Foundation’s Oceans Initiative is in the development phase and is designed to test a theory of change and identify potential goals, strategies and approaches for a potential future ecosystem-based fisheries program.
"The Coastal Resources Center has both breadth and depth of experience in conducting research and implementing programs aimed at improving the well-being of poor or vulnerable fishing communities around the world and the ecosystems on which they depend. We're thrilled to work with CRC as a key partner in this initiative," said Cristina Rumbaitis del Rio, senior associate director at the Rockefeller Foundation.
CRC will help create a scalable and testable package of effective management approaches to sustain small-scale fisheries, synthesize information, bring together partner learning approaches, develop and share learning platforms and products and serve as secretariat for the initiative’s advisory group of experts. This is the first time the University of Rhode Island has received financial support from the world-renowned Rockefeller Foundation.
“The
Rockefeller grant comes in part because of CRC’s decades of proven,
on-the-ground experience and leadership on coastal management and fisheries
issues. This work will further disseminate best practices in fisheries and will
help others replicate successful approaches in sustainable management,” said
CRC Interim Director Brian Crawford.