Learning Marine Science By Listening to Fishing Communities

Two people at a picnic table outside
Dana Greico (right) interviews a community stakeholder. Photo by Barbara Garrity-Blake

The following is a summary that originally appeared on the Office of Interdisciplinary Programs website. 

Growing up in Massachusetts, Dana Grieco spent all her summers on Cape Cod and gravitated toward a career in marine science. That led naturally to a post-grad internship at the Center for Coastal Studies. It was there where she learned the importance of listening to, and working with, local community members.

“It’s this very co-created research in terms of figuring out what’s going on for Cape Cod fisheries,” she explains. “It was about listening to folks and hearing how much knowledge they had about where they were working every day on the water, at the docks or by the coast.” The experience shaped how she thought about expertise, research and who holds knowledge.

As a Duke Ph.D. student in marine science and conservation, Grieco brought that same curiosity to North Carolina fisheries. Last summer, Grieco got the chance to learn more about local fisheries through a fellowship with nonprofit NC Catch, which aims to promote local seafood and support fishing families while educating consumers.

“Dana interviewed key people to help identify our network’s strengths, weaknesses and potential pathways forward,” says board chair Barbara Garrity-Blake. “She helped us see the big picture by developing a systems map to illustrate connections within North Carolina’s seafood industry and where NC Catch fits.” 

Grieco and Garrity-Blake created the interview questions together and then interviewed members of the board — which includes commercial fishers, seafood market owners and others invested in local seafood and livelihoods. The result was a detailed report and a resource library that “will serve us for years to come,” said Garrity-Blake.  

Read the full story on the Interdisciplinary Programs website.