Highlighting UMCES Science at the American Fisheries Society Conference

Veronica Malabanan Lucchese, 3rd year PhD student and NOAA-LMRCSC fellow at IAN, recently attended the AFS Annual Meeting held at the Honolulu Convention Center, HI, from September 15-19. During the conference, she presented her research titled "Tackling Inequality in the Potomac River Watershed Using Social Network Analysis" in the session on "Co-production of Integrated Ecosystem-Based Science for Management Decision." Additionally, she played a key role in facilitating the "Offshore Wind, Fish, and Fisheries - Emerging Knowledge and Applications" session, collaborating with her NOAA-LMRCSC counterparts and industry leaders. Throughout the event, the discussions highlighted critical food and environmental injustices faced by local and Hawaiian communities, specifically rebuilding historic fish ponds. This experience further fueled Veronica's passion for advocating for underrepresented groups, aiming to enhance their inclusion in management processes and empower them in shaping their environmental futures.

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