Dr. Anna Birkenbach is excited to serve as Delaware’s new appointee to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Committee on Economics and Social Sciences (CESS). Joining other experts spanning state, federal, and academic backgrounds, Dr. Birkenbach will further the integration of socioeconomic data and methods into fisheries management process and guide the Interstate Fisheries Management Program (ISFMP) and the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program (ACCSP) in developing fishery management plans that reflect economic and social dimensions. She will serve as the committee’s stock lead for horseshoe crabs (Delaware’s official state marine animal) and coastal sharks, a category spanning several prohibited and commercial species, and attended her first meeting in Washington, D.C. in early August.
Dr. Birkenbach’s work on the CESS will complement her continuing service as a member of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC)’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) and a co-founder of its new subpanel, the Social Science Subcommittee (SSS). The goals of the latter align closely with the mission of the CESS and build on growing momentum to better define the role of socioeconomic considerations in resource management decisions.