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Commercial Fisheries News Volume 33 Number 3 November 2005 ASMFC names Cuomo new science director Researcher brings background with lobster, sediment, pollution issues WASHINGTON, DC – Carmela Cuomo, who over the past couple of years has become increasingly well known in the lobster industry for her role in investigating the cause of the massive 1999 lobster die-off in Long Island Sound, is now the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) science director. She assumed her new responsibilities Sept. 1, replacing Lisa Kline, who held the post for roughly 10 years. Cuomo’s research specialties include marine and estuarine animal/sediment interactions, environmental pollution, aquaculture, and benthic ecology. She, along with fellow researchers, determined that water temperature, hypoxia (low oxygen), and rainfall “all appeared to have played a potentially important role” in the 1999 Long Island Sound mortality event. ASMFC officials expressed strong support for Cuomo. “I think she makes a wonderful addition to the ASMFC team,” said Commissioner Pat White of Maine, who chairs the lobster board. And ASMFC Executive Director Vince O’Shea called Cuomo “a terrific asset.” “She is a high-energy person with a keen analytical mind, extensive connections within the research and academic communities, and a strong stewardship ethic,” he said. Lobster connection Of the 22 interstate species or species-groups overseen by ASMFC, lobster is by far the most valuable. According to the National Marine Fisheries Service, preliminary Northeast region lobster landings in 2004 totaled over 75.3 million pounds and were valued at over $315.3 million. Given the enormous economic value of the resource, lobster industry leaders found it fitting that ASMFC hired a science director with deep roots in the lobster research world. “I think she’s great,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), who met Cuomo while attending symposiums about the Long Island Sound situation. McCarron wanted Maine fishermen to hear what Cuomo had to say, so she invited the researcher to be a speaker at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum last March during a separate lobster health symposium organized by the MLA. Not only did Cuomo readily accept the invitation, she didn’t duck out after her talk, said McCarron. Cuomo ended up spending the whole weekend at the forum, attending dinners and interacting with fishermen. “It’s really impressive for someone to be so advanced in their scientific career to be so willing to really listen to industry,” said McCarron. “She’s very approachable.” Casco Bay research Maine fisherman Proctor Wells met Cuomo at the fishermen’s forum for the first time and, by the end of the weekend, they had agreed to stay in touch. Soon, they were collaborating on a research venture. The two have applied to the Northeast Consortium to begin work in 2006 on a project called: “Bottom Water Quality & Sediment Geochemistry in Casco Bay and Their Relationship to Lobster Health Issues.” Wells said he wanted to be sure that what happened in Long Island Sound wouldn’t happen in Casco Bay, which has some similar characteristics. “It seemed to me that she’d be an awful good partner for looking at some of the things that interested me,” said Wells. “She’s bright and she seems like a person I could learn a lot from.” Like McCarron, Wells, too, was impressed with the way Cuomo interacted with industry. “She had a genuine interest in us,” he said. “She wanted to know why things were happening and how it was going to affect us.” ASMFC’s science director serves as the principal science adviser to the commission and its executive director. In this capacity, Cuomo will oversee ASMFC’s fisheries research programs, stock assessments, assessment peer reviews, and data collection. In short, she’ll be coordinating all the science programs that support ASMFC’s management activities. And she seems well qualified for the job. Prior to accepting the ASMFC position, Cuomo was a research associate at Yale University and an assistant professor at the University of New Haven, where she coordinated the Marine Biology Program. She has held numerous other academic positions, including one at the State University of New York at Stony Brook. Cuomo has a PhD from Yale, where her thesis topic was “The Ecological and Paleoecological Significance of Sulphides in Marine Sediments.” Among her noted skills, she “effectively communicates scientific concepts to all audiences and communicates policy and practical objectives to scientists.” She has written and/or contributed to papers on everything from “the effects of drilling muds on the behavior of American lobster” to “the effects of sewage sludge on juvenile horseshoe crabs.” O’Shea said, “I am delighted to have such a talented and respected scientist leading our fisheries science activities.” Cuomo can be reached by e-mail at <cuomo@asmfc.org>. Janice M. Plante s="eachmonth">Back to story list |
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