Q&A
Q&A with Alaska Sea Grant Heather Brandon was named the new director of Alaska’s Sea Grant program in August 2018. She is an environmental policy leader based in Juneau, Alaska.
BY SAMUEL HILL
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n August, the University of Alaska Fairbanks announced the selection of Heather Brandon to serve as Alaska Sea Grant’s new director. Brandon is an environmental policy leader with experience in fisheries issues on a broad geographic scale, ranging from Alaska to the Arctic and Russian Far East. The Juneau resident was selected after a competitive national search. “I am very pleased that Heather will take the helm at Alaska Sea Grant,” said Bradley Moran, dean of the UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. “Heather has a solid working knowledge of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s programs, including Sea Grant, and brings a wealth of experience that will be an asset to the Alaska Sea Grant program.” North Pacific Focus caught up with Brandon in February to ask about her career, her new role at Alaska Sea Grant and what the organization has on the horizon.
work someday, because the mission of the organization is so closely aligned with what drives me personally to work in the ocean and coastal field. Alaska Sea Grant’s mission in essence is to ensure the sustainable use of Alaska’s resources. I love that; I want to help with that. I’ve moved away from and come back to Alaska three times, each time knowing that there is something so special about living here that I couldn’t keep away. The last time I moved back was 10 years ago after working for a couple of years for the Pacific Fishery Management Council. I plan to raise my young family in Alaska and serve the people and the resources in this special place. NPF: What role do you see the organization play in Alaska fisheries? Brandon: Alaska Sea Grant does such diverse work across Alaska but also across the many fields of marine policy. For example, the Sea Grant team developed FishBiz, which are web resources for any fishing business. Sea Grant works to provide communities and decision-makers with tools to address climate change impacts — such as assessing the rate of coastal erosion. Sea Grant funds practical research, such as how to grow seaweed as a crop in the ocean. This diverse work is what drew me to join the Alaska Sea Grant team — and to be director is akin to supporting a team of All-Star players. Our Sea Grant marine advisory agents are known around the state for their work and for putting communities first. NPF: What are some of the biggest fisheries issues Alaska Sea Grant works to address?
NPF: What led you to work for Alaska Sea Grant?
Brandon: Alaska is on the front lines of climate change, and our warming waters most certainly are having an impact on fish and shellfish that are important to our commercial fishermen, subsistence harvesters and anglers. We produced a report not long ago called “Climate Change and Alaska Fisheries.” Here are some of the take-home messages: The sea is changing — it’s getting warmer (overriding decadal-scale variations), sea level is rising, sea ice is decreasing, and water chemistry is changing. Invasive species, harmful algal blooms, and disease-causing pathogens already are becoming more common, are harming indigenous fish and shellfish, and threatening human health. Commercially valuable fish stocks are undergoing changes in distribution, abundance and behaviors. Any projections for stock abundances in the future are tentative, and observed trends may be specific to regions or locations. Major abundance shifts, if they do occur, will develop over a period of decades. Hard times may be coming for Bering Sea pollock and some crab stocks and the fisheries that depend on them. Most Alaska salmon stocks probably will continue to prosper, and some may increase or expand their range. Exploitable halibut biomass may increase from current levels. As you know, the Bering Sea is undergoing massive changes with potential impacts, including food security, public health, increased risks to subsistence mariners, loss of income, as well as increased uncertainty and stress.
Brandon: I always thought of Sea Grant as a place I’d like to
NPF: Can you tell us about any big Alaska Sea Grant projects/
NPF: What has driven you to work with fisheries throughout your career? Brandon: I didn’t always work in fisheries, and in fact I started out in college as a general biology major, studying cells, microbes and genes. I knew I liked studying the ocean and creatures in the ocean. I also liked observing politics in action, so I interned at the Oregon Legislature and later worked in the Hawaii and Texas legislatures, too. From those experiences, I figured out that I wanted a job that would let me marry my interests in ocean resources and public policy, so I went for a master’s at University of Washington’s School of Marine Affairs and Environment. It was there that I discovered the big wide world of fisheries management and policy. I wrote my thesis on catch shares programs in Alaska — pollock, halibut and crab — and that was the hook that brought me into fisheries work. Since then I’ve worked on West Coast trawl rationalization, salmon conservation in the Russian Far East, and reducing illegal fishing in Southeast Asia and other parts of the world. The opportunity to work at Alaska Sea Grant brought my focus home and to supporting fishermen and coastal communities here in Alaska.
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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2019