Ernesto left the Naval Post Graduate School excited to continue the conversations he had been having over the past week, and to develop further relationships with researchers in the Monterey Bay area. On October 25th, he met with Rachel Christopherson, the Program Manager of the Center for the Blue Economy at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies (MIIS).
Rachel helped organize a talk for Ernesto in Dr. Jason Scorse’s class in front of a large group of graduate students. In this presentation, Ernesto focused on the issues of Common Fisheries Policy reform that had significance beyond their initial scope. By this, he intended to show the ways that the EU can be flexible, and that the Common Fisheries Policy reform was a clear example of this.
Atlantic Bluefin Tuna are just one of the many species that have impacted the Common Fisheries Policy reform.
Questions from the audience members and students focused on the management of Bluefin Tuna in the Atlantic and how best to protect species that are commonly hunted across the globe. There was also interest in how fishermen self-regulate, and if current rules were really effective. This question showed that, beyond policy making, fisheries management itself raised considerable interest among the students.
MIIS provided an interesting setting for Ernesto to speak. In this particular presentation, students were focused on fisheries and ecology and oceans governance, but the next day, Ernesto was scheduled to talk in an International Studies Course on current events. “It’s a pretty amazing school,” Ernesto stated. “The level of interest from students was exceptional. It was a really great experience.”