{"id":220500,"date":"2025-08-20T09:14:48","date_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=220500"},"modified":"2025-08-20T09:41:04","modified_gmt":"2025-08-20T19:41:04","slug":"fisheries-hui","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/08\/20\/fisheries-hui\/","title":{"rendered":"Expanding the fisheries hui: New UH<\/abbr> hires advance sustainable Pacific fisheries"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
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NOAA<\/abbr> diver Keo Lopes conducts research on a reef amidst a school of giant trevally at Pearl and Hermes Atoll. (Photo credit: Andrew Gray\/NOAA<\/abbr>)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

With diverse expertise ranging from oceanography to economics to community-based coastal management, the University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> hired eight new faculty members to support sustainable Pacific fisheries efforts. The new cohort of hires will develop an innovative graduate program to advance fisheries research, education, and training for sustainable management in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and across the Pacific.<\/p>\n

Fishing is essential to the way of life in Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and the Pacific, providing 50–90% of the protein for Pacific Islanders. However, management strategies from the U.S. continent often fail here because they were designed for cold-water, industrial fisheries. Pacific fisheries are different—they operate in warm tropical waters with diverse species and fishing gear, and with Indigenous Pacific Island communities. The Pacific Island region is multinational and has comparatively less scientific data, requiring a locally developed approach to ensure they can be sustained for generations.<\/p>\n

“It is critically important to elevate and co-develop knowledge relevant to the Pacific, foster local expertise, and train the next generation of fisheries stewards and managers,” said Megan Donahue, director of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Marine Biology<\/a> (HIMB<\/abbr>) in the UH<\/abbr> Mānoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology<\/a> (SOEST<\/abbr>). “The new faculty members in this cohort each bring unique perspectives and talent to the complexities we face here. In addition to their contributions to advancing research and sustainable management of Pacific fisheries, they will be a vital part of developing a fisheries graduate training program.”<\/p>\n

New faculty<\/h2>\n
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From top left, Donna Dimarchopoulou, Mary Donovan, Erik Franklin and Kanoe Morishige.
From bottom left: Eileen Nalley, Justin Suca, Ron Vave and Xiurou Wu.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n