October 14, 2025 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:
The fishing industry depends on timely, relevant scientific research to function. It is at the heart of many of the challenges currently facing the industry, from ensuring that fishery managers are accurately setting catch levels, to knowing how climate change is impacting the health and life cycles of fish stocks, or developing new technologies to address problems such as bycatch.
Since its founding, the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) has sought to work with the industry to address these issues with its own cutting-edge, breakthrough research. The Center is now looking to expand that partnership and is seeking new members of the finfish and shellfish industries to join and support the latest critical marine science.
SCEMFIS is a unique partnership between the industry and marine researchers. It is one of the centers that make up the National Science Foundation’s Industry/
As part of its mission, SCEMFIS scientists and its industry partners meet twice each year to identify the industry’s scientific priorities, and fund the research projects that best address them. For 2025, the Center and its partners funded $495,000 in research. Over the last five years, the Center has funded over $1.6 million in finfish and shellfish research.
This funding has supported key issues facing finfish and shellfish fisheries. On climate change, researchers have thoroughly and repeatedly documented how changing temperatures in the Northwest Atlantic have shifted the habitats of Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog, influenced the maximum size of Atlantic surfclams, and caused ocean quahogs to grow and mature quicker; these impacts all have long-term implications for how the species are managed.
SCEMFIS research has helped improve fisheries management for several finfish and shellfish species. Studies by Center researchers have looked at how to deal with scientific uncertainty when managing economically important species like Atlantic surfclam and menhaden. They have devised new and innovative methods to age and estimate the populations of species including ocean quahog, other shellfish, and Atlantic menhaden. These projects have all benefited the Center’s industry partners by giving fisheries managers a more accurate picture of the age and size of the fish populations they are managing, leading to more sustainable fisheries and better management.
Researchers have updated the fecundity and maturity schedule for Atlantic menhaden, explored food web relationships of Gulf menhaden predators, and developed an internet-based data portal for Gulf menhaden fisheries independent survey.
SCEMFIS-funded research has invested in improving fishing technology, with researchers focusing on updating clam dredges and other shellfish gear. Researchers have also documented the economic impacts of commercially important fisheries like summer flounder, scup, and longfin squid, highlighting the contributions member industries make to their regional economies.
SCEMFIS has also contributed to the emerging science on offshore wind power, particularly on its interactions with nearby fish populations and existing fisheries. SCEMFIS-funded research has hi
Another vital part of SCEMFIS’ mission is supporting the next generation of marine science researchers. Each year, SCEMFIS’ academic partners sponsor undergraduate internships and graduate student fellowships. These internships and fellowships give students valuable hands-on research experience, and helps them further their careers in academia, fisheries science, and fisheries management.
All of this research is made possible through the support of our industry partners. By joining SCEMFIS, your business will directly benefit from the breakthroughs produced by the research of SCEMFIS academics, and you will have a direct say in which research priorities are funded. Partnering with SCEMFIS allows for low overhead costs, letting most of your contributions go to directly support scientific research. A healthy industry and sustainable fisheries depend on good research, and SCEMFIS membership is one of the best ways to support it.
If your business is interested in joining SCEMFIS, please contact either our Chair, Joe Myers, our Vice Chair, Greg DiDomenico, or either of our Directors, Dr. Eric Powell or Dr. Roger Mann, to learn more about the benefits of membership.
About SCEMFIS
The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) brings together academic and industry expertise to address urgent scientific challenges facing sustainable fisheries. Through advanced methods, analytical tools, and collaborative research, SCEMFIS works to reduce uncertainty in stock assessments and improve the long-term sustainability of key marine resources.
SCEMFIS is an Industry-University Cooperative Research Center supported by the National Science Foundation. Industry organizations join SCEMFIS through an Industry Membership Agreement with one of the center’s site universities and contribute both financial support and valuable expertise to help shape research priorities.
Its university partners include the University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William and Mary. The center also collaborates with scientists from a broad network of institutions, including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, the University of Maryland, and the University of Rhode Island. These researchers bring deep expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal science.
Demand for SCEMFIS’s services continues to grow, driven by the fishing industry’s need for responsive, science-based support. The center provides timely access to expert input on stock assessment issues, participates in working groups, and conducts targeted studies that lead to better data collection, improved survey design, and more accurate modeling-all in service of sustainable, science-driven fishery management.