NOAA Fisheries has announced the appointment of Mabel Baldwin-Schaeffer as tribal research coordinator for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s communications program.
Baldwin-Schaeffer is tasked with fostering relationships with subsistence communities and fishing sectors to identify opportunities for scientific collaboration and co-production of research, said Robert Foy, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
Baldwin-Schaeffer was successful in building partnerships with diverse stakeholder groups to co-produce data when working at the Fisheries, Aquatic Science and Technology Laboratory at Pacific University, Foy said.
Efforts to identify research needs and to more effectively communicate with and design collaborative research projects with Alaska indigenous communities, tribal governments and Alaska Native organizations will benefit greatly from Baldwin-Schaeffer’s knowledge and experience, he said.
Baldwin-Schaeffer holds a bachelor’s degree in sustainability studies and a master’s degree in environmental science from Alaska Pacific University and has ties to local communities.
Her appointment was announced on Wednesday, July 7. She will be based in Anchorage.
Previously, she led a collaborative study examining offshore gold mining and effects on important structural habitat components for juvenile red king crab in Norton Sound. She also managed a collaborative initiative between the Bering Sea elders and a Bering Sea commercial fishing fleet. The goal of the initiative was to better understand effects of change in Kuskokwim Bay’s water temperatures and to strengthen communication between Alaska Native communities and the commercial fishing industry, organizers said.
