WHO WE ARE
The Integrated Marine Fisheries (IMF) Lab is part of the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station based at the Hatfield Marine Science Center. We also belong to the Department of Fisheries, Wildlife, and Conservation Sciences and College of Agricultural Sciences at Oregon State University. Our lab is supported by and works in close collaboration with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Marine Resources Program.
WHAT WE DO
The main objective of the IMF Lab is to conduct scientific research (using field sampling, lab-based research, and statistical modeling techniques) that informs marine resource management. Much of our work focuses on better understanding population and community dynamics of groundfishes to guide stock assessments and ecosystem-based fisheries management in the North Pacific. When based on robust scientific information, management actions are less likely to result in overharvest (thereby decreasing long-term stainability) or underutilization (resulting from overly restrictive policies that unnecessarily reduce socioeconomic benefits) of the resource.
We also place considerable value on collaborating with academic and agency scientists, resource managers, and fishery stakeholders because of its benefit to both process and product. Some common research themes include: evaluating effects of spatial and temporal scales on ecological inferences, enhancing scientific lessons through cross-regional comparisons, and using multiple metrics to improve our understanding about processes of interest.
