Since its formation, more than 50 LMRCSC graduates have gone on to work for NOAA or NOAA contractors, and many others have taken roles in alignment with the NOAA Mission. These graduates enter the agency having already developed NOAA-specific skills, connections, and an awareness of processes and procedures that would have accounted for months or years of federal dollars spent on training.
Without sustained investment, NOAA risks a reduction in qualified and trained fisheries scientists ready to address the challenges faced by domestic and global fisheries. This shortage could affect our food supply and many American coastal economies.
Our research, from internship projects completed in partnership with NOAA labs to our graduates’ theses and dissertations have contributed new and much-needed scientific information to the benefit of our local and national economies.
Impact Stories (VIDEO)
Shedding light on seafood borne bacteria
A water bacterium called Shewanella can infect fish, shellfish, and humans. The more destructive strains can be resistant to antibiotics, making infections difficult to treat. Never heard of it? That’s because Shewanella isn’t officially tracked by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, so many infections fly under the radar.
Tahirah Johnson is a recent Ph.D. graduate and NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperate Science Center (LMRCSC) fellow at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore. Under the mentorship of Dr. Salina Parveen, Johnson centered her graduate research around Shewanella, examining its prevalence, its antibiotic resistance, and how to control its spread.
Protecting commercial seafood availability
Kayland Huckaby is a fourth year Ph.D. student at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) and a NOAA LMRCSC fellow. She studies the diets of four different fish species: Atlantic croaker, Pinfish, rough scad, and inshore lizardfish. To do this, Huckaby hops on a research vessel and collects samples throughout the Gulf, from off the coast of Texas to Florida.
Specifically, Huckaby looks at what these fish eat, and the effect environmental change has on their diets. Rising water temperatures, lower oxygen levels, and oil spills will change the food that’s available. If the fish’s diet changes or if the fish moves out of the affected area, it can change the entire region’s food web. Worst case scenario: The fish will die off, leading to changes in abundance.
Saltwater intrusion ignites undergrad’s fervor for coastal ecology
Ghost forests are spreading along American coastlines. And no, they’re not haunted.
Rather, a ghost forest is a swath of dead trees created when extreme high tides and hurricanes carry saltwater further inland—an increasingly common occurrence. The rise of ghost forests is changing entire coastal ecosystems. In some cases, it is also making agricultural land infertile.
Leianna Jones was an LMRCSC fellow who graduated from University of Maryland Eastern Shore in May 2026 with a bachelor’s degree in environmental science. Her research focused on the cause and the pace of saltwater intrusion.
Podcast Episodes
Lonnie Gonsalves on EPP Jubilee
Listen to NOAA LMRCSC alum Lonnie Gonsalves, who now works at NOAA Coastal Ocean Science, talk about the impact the LMRCSC had on his career trajectory.
NOAA Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center
University of Maryland Eastern Shore (Lead Institution)
(410) 651-7870
Award numbers: FY 2021 Award #NA21SEC4810005
Funding Agency: NOAA Educational Partnership Program (EPP/MSI)
