Past Scholarship Recipients
2021-2022 Scholarship Recipients
Cailey Dyer
"I am very excited to continue my studies in Marine Management at Dalhousie this fall and to do so with the support of the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship. During my studies, I hope to bring my past experiences working in policy spaces to the Marine Management program and develop interdisciplinary ways to tackle complex challenges facing the marine management community. In particular, I am interested in examining best practices for developing marine protected areas in Canada’s Arctic. Using Indigenous knowledge, science, and policy, the goal of my research is to discover how to best work with communities and incorporate local, on the ground knowledge, in what has historically been a science-led space. "
Corie Rooyakkers
"I am extremely grateful to be receiving the Sobey Fund for Oceans scholarship as I start my graduate studies at Dalhousie University in the Master of Marine Management program. I have an educational background in biochemistry and molecular biology, and a professional background in environmental enforcement. I have seen firsthand the common disconnect between science and policy, and the associated opportunity for improvement. I believe that one of the most successful methods to manage and protect the marine environment is through improved legislation. I am excited to explore this in my studies at Dalhousie University, to learn about the obstacles and suggested resolutions, and to use my multidisciplinary background to help support a path forward with the ultimate goal of protecting the marine environment."
Debra Sinarta
"I am very grateful to receive the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship to support my graduate studies in the Marine Affairs Program. My research will aim to assess the effectiveness of Marine Protected Areas in achieving ecological and social goals. I'm especially interested in studying climate change adaptation strategies and human well-being outcomes, which I hope will contribute practical adaptive management strategies through a multidisciplinary approach. I am also passionate about the role Indigenous governance and local stewardship plays in the planning and management of MPAs, and I hope to explore more effective ways to incorporate local stakeholders in this process."
Hannah Solway
"As I continue my education by pursuing an MSc, I look forward to applying my undergraduate knowledge and background in Conservation Biology to this degree. Throughout this degree, I will be continuing my undergraduate honours research, investigating the interactions between baleen whales, vessels, and entanglement in the North West Atlantic Ocean. Using Geographic Information Systems, statistical modelling, and various data sources, I will be researching where baleen whale vessel strikes and entanglement may be most likely, along with any other associated inquiries. I hope to use this research to help implement changes in marine management and policy to help better protect baleen whales in the North West Atlantic Ocean. I am very proud and honoured to have received the Sobey Fund For Oceans Scholarship, and look forward to all that I will achieve with this support"
2020-2021 Scholarship Recipients
Lisa Baxter
"Entering my graduate studies in Marine Management, I am honoured to have received the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship to support my research goals. Coming from a background in Molecular Biology and Genetics, I hope to use these skills to evaluate management of unconventional and innovative conservation strategies. Many experts have noted the need for bolder, innovative conservation methods to combat the environmental consequences of climate change highlighting the need to streamline and consolidate management approaches for these unique conservation strategies. Through my research, I hope to analyze effective management strategies for implementing unconventional conservation methods, as well as identify key components of productive interdisciplinary and multi-institutional coral reef management through using the Great Barrier Reef as a case study. In future, I hope that my research findings for effective and collaborative coral reef management can be adapted and implemented for the management of other global reef systems."
Victoria Cullen
"I am very excited to join the MMM community at Dalhousie this fall. I am grateful for the support of the Sobeys Fund for Oceans scholarship, as I pursue my proposed research in sustainable inshore fisheries management. I hope to learn about management tools that can integrate the knowledge and preferences of fisheries stakeholders into the decision-making process. By incorporating the stakeholder perspective, managers can arrive at practical, effective management solutions that support the sustainability of the fisheries resource as well as the resilience and well-being of coastal communities."
Martin Ostrega
“I am very grateful to have received the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship, which will support me through my graduate studies in the Marine Affairs Program at Dalhousie University. This scholarship will allow me to learn about fisheries management and help me conduct my research into understanding and identifying fish spawning aggregations and lack of protection in the Caribbean. In particular, ensuring that many species that rely on fish spawning aggregations will be sustained and biodiversity will be increased. I hope that my research will help bring about transformative change for conservation in small-scale island states. My objective is to help Caribbean industries, organizations, and communities recognize this significant issue by providing a framework to protect fish aggregation sites.”
2019-2020 Scholarship Recipients
Tracy MacKeracher
"I am thrilled to receive the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship to support my studies at Dalhousie. Through my PhD research, I aim to understand and quantify the socio-cultural, ecological and economic processes underpinning the sustainability of Nova Scotia’s lobster fisheries. I am very grateful to the Sobey Fund for Oceans for supporting this research, which I hope will contribute to sustainable fisheries management by providing an integrated approach for managing fisheries as social-ecological systems."
Noémie Roy
"I wish to help coastal communities thrive through a balance between sustainable resource use and biodiversity conservation. I am grateful to receive the Sobey Fund for Oceans scholarship, because it will allow me to gain knowledge on sustainable development, fisheries economics and area-based conservation through the Master of Marine Management. During my master’s degree, I will conduct interdisciplinary research on marine protected areas as tools for both conservation and ecosystem service provision. My goal is to find management strategies that support both healthy oceans and the livelihood of fishing communities."
2018-2019 Scholarship Recipient
Holly Amos
"As I enter the Marine Management program at Dalhousie, I am appreciative of the support from the Sobey Fund for Oceans to pursue my research interests. With a background in nutrition and healthcare, I am passionate about creating environments that are supportive of health for all. A key component of building healthy environments is a food system meets the demands placed upon it, without harming the integrity of the ecosystems and environments that we source our food from. With a growing global population and increased pressure on our food systems, it is important to explore how we can align human health and environmental health. My proposed research will explore how human health and environmental health can be considered together to develop nutrition recommendations for fish and seafood consumption that support environmental sustainability and optimal health for Canadians. By aligning human health and environmental health we can effect change in policy, legislation and practice to ensure sustainable food systems that feed a healthy population."
2017-2018 Scholarship Recipients
Emma Carmichael
"With the support from the Sobey Fund for Oceans and Dalhousie’s Marine Management program, I am looking forward to pursuing my interests in global and local fisheries and their effect on at-risk species, marine biodiversity and ecosystem health. During my time at Dalhousie, I hope to study successful sustainable fisheries around the globe, and determine how aspects from these fisheries, such as improved product transparency and reduced by-catch mortality, could be implemented in local maritime fisheries, benefiting our sustainability and conservation needs. I am so excited to work alongside Dalhousie and the Sobey Fund for Oceans in my research, and am eager to gain new interests through the interdisciplinary nature of the Marine Management program.”
Curtis Martin
“I am so grateful to receive the Sobey Fund for Oceans scholarship, which will allow me to pursue a graduate degree in the Marine Affairs program. Furthering my education in this field is not only a career goal of mine, but also what I am most passionate about. Climate change poses a huge threat to the future of our biosphere, and one of the biggest issues today is implementing policy that is based on scientific evidence. Without support from the public, scientific policy is difficult to achieve. Because of this funding, I will be able to research how to best educate and inform the public on the science behind climate change and the dangers that come with it. This will help link the public with policy makers so that we can all work together to protect our beautiful planet and its future."
2016-2017 Scholarship Recipients
Leah Beveridge
"I am very thankful to the Sobey Fund for Oceans for their support of my research on multi-stakeholder and cross-cultural governance of Arctic marine spaces. I am drawn to the Canadian Arctic because I believe it provides the unique opportunity to be proactive and to find balance between environmental protection, economic development, and human well-being.”
Kelly Fretwell
"I am grateful for the support of the Sobey Fund for Oceans for facilitating my studies with the Marine Affairs Program. Through the interdisciplinary approach of the program, I aim to gain an understanding of the ways that ecosystem science informs policy in marine and coastal management. I am especially interested in examining how the study of cross-boundary linkages between marine and terrestrial systems can inform policy and management. Science communication is another area of interest, and I hope to explore the ways in which it can facilitate successful marine management."
Laurenne Schiller
"I fell in love with the ocean for its incredible creatures. But, like many people, I’ve come to realize the significant impacts humans are having on fish stocks around the world. Although civil society is now taking a prominent role in promoting sustainable fisheries through private certification programs, little work has been done to understand the interplay between these initiatives and traditional public management bodies. I’m incredibly grateful to the Sobey Fund for Oceans for supporting my research on this topic, which I hope will contribute positively to the field of international fisheries governance."
Laura Steeves
"With the support of the Sobey Fund for Oceans Scholarship I hope to further my understanding of the ecology of our waters so that we may better manage the way that we harvest resources from the ocean. With a particular interest in ecological modeling, my goals are to synthesize scientific data as well as to communicate scientific knowledge to a broader, more general audience. I believe that the Master of Marine Management program, due to its interdisciplinary nature, will assist me in gaining the skills required to not only conduct original research, but also to present that research under the broader lens of our society and economy. Presently, large predators at the top of marine food chains are of a particular interest to be studied due to both their vulnerability and impact on an ecosystem. I am grateful to have the support of the Sobey Fund for Oceans as I pursue my research over the course of my program."
2015-2016 Scholarship Recipients
Alba Garcia Rodriguez
"My main goal while studying at Dalhousie is to enhance my knowledge about the marine environment and the management measures that can be implemented to improve the current ocean situation in an ecological, social, and economic sense. I want to collaborate and work in the development and implementation of new marine management approaches to combine ocean conservation with the sustainable use of marine resources. I am really grateful to the Sobey Fund for Oceans for this opportunity, and I hope this knowledge will enable me to keep fighting for our oceans and the sustainable use of its resources."
Monica Reed
"I am thrilled to have the support of the Sobey Fund for Oceans to pursue my interests in sustainable management of the marine environment. My research aims to promote integrated coastal management of seagrass ecosystems, with a specific focus on the potential of participatory conservation efforts and community based ecological monitoring. Ultimately, I hope to contribute to adaptable management strategies that encourage resilience as coastal ecosystems become increasingly stressed by the pressures of climate change."
2014-2015 Scholarship Recipients
Maryann Watson
"I believe that sustainable solutions for coastal management will come from understanding the impact of decisions on all of the communities involved. The Sobey fund for Oceans provides me with a unique opportunity to learn to use an interdisciplinary approach to achieve both environmental and social goals."
Julie Hovey
"I am thrilled to be given the opportunity to pursue my interest in marine environments. During my time with the Marine Affairs Program I hope to gain the skills and knowledge needed to make a positive contribution to the sustainable use of marine resources. I am particularly interested in improving the current methods of aquaculture and reducing its associated environmental impact through the integration of ecological, sociological, and economic knowledge."
Manuel Dureuil
"My aim is to better understand the spatial ecology of North Atlantic shark populations in order to provide a scientific basis for top predator restoration programs and to aid the development of comprehensive protection measures. I very much believe that my research will strongly benefit from the excellent infrastructure and expertise offered at Dalhousie and I am deeply grateful that the Sobeys Fund for Oceans is supporting this project."
2013-2014 Scholarship Recipient
Scott McCain
"I am fascinated by the processes that occur in oceans. Alongside our increasing dependence on marine resources, we must understand these processes to learn how to mitigate our effects on marine environments. I am incredibly thankful and excited to have received the Sobey Fund for Oceans Graduate Scholarship, and I am looking forward studying at Dalhousie!"
2012 - 2013 Scholarship Recipients
Jenna Stoner
“I foresee the MMM program as a key platform for me to intertwine multi-disciplined, course-based learning with interactive, hands-on experiences. My field of interest lies in seafood sustainability and I plan to focus my studies on finfish aquaculture feeds”. Department of Biology, University of Victoria, BC.
Greg Britten
“My goal is to develop a strong quantitative analysis of the trends in both Atlantic and global fish stocks so we can better understand the ecology and management of a modern and sustainable commercial fishery”. Departments of Biology and Mathematics/Statistics, Dalhousie University, NS.