Lobsters in the News February 24 – March 10

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Save the Dates!

March 23 – 26, 2023

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association Annual Weekend & Industry Trade Show, Hyannis, Massachusetts

Use this link to learn more or contact Beth Casoni at:  beth.casoni@lobstermen.com or call 781-545-6984 xt. 1

Funding Opportunities

Job Opportunity at UMaine

NNA Lobster Network GIS, Outreach, Evaluation Coordinator

Statement of the Job:
The GIS, Outreach and Evaluation Coordinator is a 3-year soft-money position supporting the newly formed NNA Lobster Network funded by the National Science Foundation’s Navigating the New Arctic (NNA) Program.  The position’s primary function will be to serve the stakeholder outreach objectives and geo-spatial mapping objectives of the project. The Outreach and Evaluation Coordinator will provide facilitation, outreach, evaluation, technical assistance, and GIS support for stakeholder engagement activities and external partnerships both in the US and Canada. Network objectives will benefit from a professional individual with a global perspective attuned to local issues and stakeholder interests. Typical hiring range for this soft-money funded position is $50,000 to $60,000 commensurate with qualifications and experience.
Qualifications:
Required:
  • Typically has the education associated with a Bachelor’s degree in geo-spatial environmental (GIS) sciences and five years of relevant professional experience or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
  • Working familiarity with the Northeast US and Canadian lobster fishery, and coastal communities.
  • Experience with group facilitation, outreach and engagement of multiple stakeholders.
  • Experience supervising students.
  • Valid driver’s license.
  • Ability to travel.
Preferred:
  • Graduate degree in geo-spatial environmental (GIS) sciences, natural sciences or conservation.
  • A global perspective attuned to local issues.
View complete job description or apply here.

For questions about the search, please contact search committee chair Richard Wahle at Richard.wahle@maine.edu or 207-581-1443.

Graduate Research Assistant on Northeast Sea Grant project:

Can proprietary commercial lobstering data be used to inform offshore wind development?

UMaine’s School of Computing and Information Science seeks a Master’s level graduate research assistant to aid in conducting research on constructing map representations from commercial lobster boat plotter/navigation systems. The objective of the project is to evaluate the feasibility of integrating proprietary data from individual fishermen’s commercial marine Personal Computer (PC)-based navigation plotters into aggregate mapping products that: 1) represent examples of fine-scale spatial and temporal coverage of the Maine lobster fishery, and 2) respect the confidentiality of individual data holdings.

The work will involve working directly with project partners from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, UMaine’s School of Computing and Information Science, and the Lobster Institute. The Research Assistant should therefore be comfortable communicating and interacting with an interdisciplinary team and with lobster fishermen.

The Research Assistant, in collaboration with project team members, will be responsible for:

  • Working with lobstermen through the Fishermen’s Knowledge Trust (FKT) to inventory data collection platforms used by lobster fishermen fishing in federal waters and to collect sample data from a set of fishermen
  • Working with the FKT to set up a database to manage collected data
  • Developing and testing software to parse and aggregate sample data
  • Conducting GIS and statistical analysis as needed to develop data products
Qualifications:

A Masters level student in Spatial Informatics, Computer Science, Data Science, or Marine Science with:

  • programming proficiency, ideally familiar with R or Python
  • familiarity with GIS analysis and software (commercial (e.g. ArcGIS) or open source (e.g QGIS)
  • familiarity with relational and spatial databases
  • familiar with electronic navigation/ charting systems
  • familiarity with lobster fishing practices a plus
The project will provide tuition, stipend, and student health insurance for one year with a potential second year depending on federal approval of project continuation and acceptable performance on the
project.

Contact:
Dr. Kate Beard-Tisdale
School of Computing and Information Science
University of Maine, Orono
kate.beard@maine.edu

Research Scholarship Opportunity

Apply now for the Margaret Chase Smith Public Affairs Scholarship

An academic-year scholarship for $3500 will support an independent research project focused on a public policy topic. Students from all disciplines are encouraged to apply. The deadline for applications is March 27.

Eligibility criteria:
• a Maine resident, currently enrolled at UMaine for 12 credits or more,
• an undergraduate student with a GPA of 3.0 or higher,
• completed 40 degree hours prior to the current semester.

Previous recipients have come from such diverse disciplines as Geology, History, Political Science, Computer Science, International Affairs, Education, Sociology, Psychology, Social Work, Landscape Horticulture, Civil Engineering, Nursing, Mechanical Engineering, Natural Resources, Journalism and Mass Communication, Economics, Biochemistry and Microbiology.

Website and Application

In honor of Senator Margaret Chase Smith’s many years of service to the citizens of Maine and the nation this scholarship provides assistance to undergraduates who have demonstrated an active interest in public affairs and who show promise for future leadership in, and contribution to, public affairs. Senator Smith’s abiding belief was that real progress would be attained only through the education of young people.

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