Southern Miss Student’s Passion for Fisheries Hopes to Bring Change to Coastal Communities

Fri, 11/08/2024 - 11:10am | By: Gabriela Shinskie

The coastal lifestyle runs through the veins of Molly Spencer, a School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) student at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Her passion for fisheries has sparked her to create dynamic solutions for coastal communities and federal agencies, allowing her to land an internship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass.

In October 2023, Spencer packed her bags for a six-month internship to survey the Atlantic Surfclam stock and climate change impact on its migrating population. Spencer explained that changes in water temperature greatly affect the surfclam population over time while also impacting commercial and governmental agencies. The shifting range of the Atlantic Surfclam is important information to the local fishers and the stock assessors that produce their yearly quotas.

“This research is important to me because it has a direct correlation to real problems occurring in our coastal oceans right now. This work has the potential to be put into the hands of policymakers and those of fisheries influence. I’m hoping my research will be able to make changes for the better. I’m hoping to bridge the science with coastal fishers,” said Spencer.

Spencer is excited to participate in a first-ever research manuscript detailing studies done on assessing a federal stock assessment on the future abundance of a commercially valuable species. The goal is to inform top U.S. shellfish fisheries on changes in stock sustainability resulting from climate change.

“This is exciting to be a part of. Hopefully, before 2026, this manuscript will be out and into the hands of the fisheries and federal surveyors that are currently questioning how well the survey will do under climate-induced changes to the surfclam stock,” said Spencer. 

Spencer enjoyed collaborating with scientists from federal institutions and contributing to positive change in coastal sciences. She wants to contribute to keeping the fisheries alive, especially those dating back generations. She contributes her success to USM’s programs in coastal sciences that have opened a door to research that is ready to make a difference. 

“The tools and research that USM puts out really set up their students for government agencies,” said Spencer.

She credits her advisor, Dr. Eric Powell, SOSE professor, for presenting her with the internship and uncovering her passion for survey research, modeling and biological sciences. Her master’s program under Dr. Powell was crucial in enhancing her skills in the field.

“Molly has worked successfully with research scientists from many academic institutions, including Rutgers University, the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences, Old Dominion University, and the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center. It is unusual for someone at the master’s level to have developed such a broad range of research collaborators, to have worked across such a wide range of academic and federal institutions, and to have produced publishable work in high-profile journals,” said Powell.

Spencer completed her master’s degree in coastal sciences in the summer of 2024. Her plans to pursue her doctorate under Dr. Powell are ongoing, focusing heavily on Ocean Quahog, an edible clam native to the North Atlantic Ocean and an important component of local fisheries. 

“Fisheries are a really important component of my life back home in Maine due to growing up in a cluster of different fishing villages along the coast. I hope more research is done to offer sustainable ways to extract coastal resources in our coastal communities,” said Spencer.

Click here to learn how USM’s School of Ocean Science and Engineering is preparing students who are ready for research and change.