Current Science and Policy of Bycatch Reduction: An Interview with Professor Larry Crowder

Abstract

Professor Larry Crowder is the science director at the Center for Ocean Solutions (COS).  He is also Ed Ricketts professor of biology at Hopkins Marine Station and a senior fellow at the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, both part of Stanford University.  Previously, he was the Stephen Toth Professor of Marine Biology at Duke University. 

Dr. Crowder's research centers on predation and food web interactions, mechanisms underlying recruitment variation in fishes, population and food web modeling in conservation biology, and interdisciplinary approaches to marine conservation. He has studied food web processes in both freshwater and marine ecosystems, and has used observational, experimental, and modeling approaches to understand these interactions in an effort to improve management. He was principal investigator for a number of large interdisciplinary research projects including the South Atlantic Bight Recruitment Experiment (SABRE), OBIS SEAMAP (Spatial Ecological Analysis of Megavertebrate Animal Populations), and Project GloBAL (Global Bycatch Assessment of Long-Lived Species). He has also directed and participated in a number of research, analysis, and synthesis groups at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS) and for the National Research Council's Ocean Studies Board.

His recent research has focused on marine conservation, including research on bycatch, spatial ecological analysis, nutrients and low oxygen, sustainable seafood, ecosystem-based management, marine spatial planning, and governance. He is a AAAS Fellow and was awarded Duke University's Scholar/Teacher of the year award in 2008-2009.