To the editor:
I read with great interest the story, “The Newfoundland-New England fisheries connection is strong and growing” by Nancy Griffin in the December/January Working Waterfront. Thank you for including the connections between Memorial University and the Northeast Consortium in the article, but there are a few corrections worth noting.
The correct spelling of Dr. He’s first name is Pingguo.
The Northeast Consortium is referred to as the “New England Consortium” in the eighth paragraph.
Although it is physically housed at UNH, there are four institutions that work together to run the Consortium (University of New Hampshire, University of Maine, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution).
The Northeast Consortium receives funds from an annual Congressional appropriation through the National Marine Fisheries Service. There are no other grants involved.
The research funded is all collaborative in nature, not just “industry research.” The participation of fishermen and scientists on projects is required (except for the small project development awards).
It is true that the workshops at Memorial University are collaborative, since fishermen, scientists, and managers can attend. It is formally called the “Workshop on Conservation and Selectivity in Trawl Fisheries” and is lead by Pingguo, who used to be a scientist at Memorial… It may be more appropriate to call it a “trawl gear selectivity workshop,” rather than a “collaborative workshop.”
Just as an aside, there are actually many projects funded by the Northeast Consortium that involve flume tank trials of trawl gear up at Memorial. The staff and facilities there are excellent!
Rachel Gallant
Northeast Consortium Fisheries Specialist
