Teresa Johnson
Cooperating Professor, Anthropology
Cooperating Professor, School of Policy & International Affairs
Media Expertise:
Social Dimensions of Tidal Power Development
Marine Fisheries Management
Knowledge to Action
Fishing Communities
Research Interests
Human Dimensions of Marine Fisheries
Knowledge to Action
Collaborative Research
Stakeholder Engagement
Tidal Energy
Research Projects
- Renewable Energy from the Tides
- New England Sustainability Consortium: Safe Beaches & Shellfish Beds
Degrees
- Rutgers University, Ph.D. (Ecology and Evolution)
- University of Maine, M.S. (Marine Policy)
- Bowdoin College, A.B. (Biology, Government, and Environmental Studies)
Courses
SMS 230: Marine Policy and Fisheries Management
SMS 598: Knowledge and Participation in the Science Policy Process
Profile
Teresa Johnson is a Professor of Marine Policy at the University of Maine. Her research focuses on the human dimensions of marine fisheries, particularly the science and management processes in the Northeast U.S. This includes investigating the role of different forms of expertise in the science policy process, including scientists’ research-based knowledge and fishermen’s experience-based knowledge. Her work also assesses the design of effective fisheries management institutions and the cumulative effects of social and environmental changes in fishing communities.
Johnson’s SSI research project involves building a framework for the responsible development of tidal power in Maine and beyond. This model includes strategies for effectively integrating scientific research in decision-making and engaging communities and other stakeholders in research and decision-making about tidal power development. To date her team has developed a better understanding of community and stakeholder concerns about tidal power, and is integrating that knowledge into future research.
In addition to her research and teaching responsibilities, Johnson is an appointed member of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Sea Urchin Zone Council. She has also provided advice to the Maine Governor and the State of Maine on how to move forward with tidal power development in a socially and environmentally responsible manner.
Selected Publications
J.A. Wilson, J.M. Acheson, and T.R. Johnson, “The Cost of Useful Knowledge and Collective Action in Three Fisheries,” Ecological Economics 96 (2013): 165-172.
T.R. Johnson, J. Jansujwicz, and G. Zydlewski, “Tidal Power Development in Maine: Stakeholder Identification and Perceptions of Engagement,” Estuaries and Coasts (2013).
J. Jansujwicz and T.R. Johnson, “Understanding and Informing Permitting Decisions for Tidal Power Development in Maine,” Estuaries and Coasts (2013).
T.R. Johnson, J.A. Wilson, C. Cleaver, G. Morehead, and R. Vadas, “Modeling Fine Scale Urchin-Kelp Dynamics: Implications for Fisheries Management,” Fisheries Research 141 (2013): 107-117.
T.R. Johnson, J.A. Wilson, C. Cleaver, and R. Vadas, “Social-Ecological Scale Mismatches and the Collapse of the Maine Sea Urchin Fishery,” Ecology and Society 17, no. 2 (2012): 15.
T. Johnson and G. Zydlewski, “Research for the Sustainable Development of Tidal Power in Maine,” Maine Policy Review 21, no. 1 (2012): 58-64.
T.R. Johnson, “Fishermen, Scientists, and Boundary Spanners: Cooperative Research in the US Illex Squid Fishery,” Society and Natural Resources 24, no.3 (2011): 242-255.
T.R. Johnson, “Cooperative Research and Knowledge Flow in the Marine Commons,” International Journal of the Commons 4, no.1 (2010): 251-272
G. Murray, T.R. Johnson, B. McCay, M. Danko, K. St. Martin, and S. Takahashi, “Cumulative Effects, Creeping Enclosure, and the Marine Commons of New Jersey,” International Journal of the Commons 4, no.1 (2010): 367-389.
T.R. Johnson and W.L. T. van Densen, “Benefits and Organization of Cooperative Research,” ICES Journal of Marine Science 64, no.4 (2007): 862
K. St. Martin, B. McCay, G. Murray, T.R. Johnson, and B. Oles, “Communities, Knowledge, and Fisheries of the Future,” International Journal of Global Environmental Issues 7, no.3 (2007): 221-239
B. J. McCay, T.R. Johnson, K. St. Martin, and D.C. Wilson. “Gearing Up for Improved Collaboration: The Potentials and Limits of Cooperative Research for Incorporating Fishermens Knowledge,” in Partnerships for a Common Purpose: Cooperative Fisheries Research and Management, eds. A.N. Read and T. W. Hartley (Bethesda, MD: American Fisheries Society, 2006), 111-115.
