March 31, 2021 — The following was released by the Coonamessett Farm Foundation:
To close out Women’s History Month, we’re highlighting the dynamic, capable women at CFF who lead our research! These women help us carry out our mission of supporting sustainable fisheries, aquaculture, and agricultural industries!
Luisa Garcia received a bachelor’s degree in Biology with concentration in Marine biology in 2009 from Universidad del Valle, Colombia. After graduating, she worked for four years as an Assistant Researcher in the Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras – INVEMAR (Colombia). In this position she participated in research trips and specialized in fisheries stock assessments and the reproductive biology of the main commercially harvested shrimp species (Litopenaeus occidentalis, Solenocera agassizi, and Farfantepenaeus brevirotris) in the Colombian Pacific. Luisa completed a master’s degree in Marine Affairs at University of Rhode Island in 2016. At CFF, Luisa leads a seasonal bycatch study researching changes in the distribution of bycatch species in the scallop fishery on Georges Bank. Luisa is interested in the distribution and prevalence of diseases in scallop and other important species, as well as lobster damage caused by different dredge configurations.
Natalie Jennings currently leads CFF’s surfclam research projects. Natalie received her bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology in 2011 from UNC Wilmington. She then graduated a master’s program at UMass Dartmouth’s SMAST in 2015 in Living Marine Resource Management specializing in fishing gear technology. Her project focused on reducing bycatch in trawl nets used in the groundfish fishery. She then worked for North Carolina’s state fisheries department first as an observer, then on their gillnet sampling and tagging program. Her primary interests lie in fishing gear and its interactions with living organisms and their associated ecosystems.
Sarah Whitman leads the CFF sea scallop enhancement project. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Biology with a concentration in Marine Biology in 2015 from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. She then went on to receive her Master’s degree in Conservation Medicine in 2017 from the Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine at Tufts University, and is currently working towards her PhD. While pursuing her degrees she worked as an intern for multiple organizations, including two internships with the New England Aquarium conducting rehabilitation of sea turtles. She has also worked on multiple ecological research projects as both an undergraduate and graduate student on an array of different topics, including North Atlantic right whale fecundity and eyeshine in sea scallops. Prior to working at CFF she worked as a research assistant in the Marine Fisheries Field Research Group at SMAST conducting sea scallop research and assisting with their drop camera survey.