Our Waters Storymap

The AICAD/NOAA Fisheries Art and Science Fellowshippairs artists and designers with NOAA Fisheries policy makers, scientists, and stakeholder communities. The 2023 Fellowship focused on imagining ways to identify and engage recreational and subsistence fishing communities affected by federal fisheries management. The work sought to engage overlooked communities in the decision-making process, and help the agency allocate its services in equitable ways. That goal is aligned with a national Equity and Environmental Justice Strategythat NOAA Fisheries adopted in early 2023 and objectives of equitable outreach and engagement and ensuring more inclusive governance.

The selected fellow, Cat Ross, artist and creative researcher, completed a 6-week residency with NOAA Fisheries during the summer 2023, alongside NOAA Fisheries' West Coast Region Recreational Fisheries Coordinator, Daniel Studt, in Long Beach, California. The residency consisted of extensive research, an immersion within the agency, and several 'dock walking' outreach tours to shoreline fishing locations along the coastline.

Their work resulted in a rich engagement with locals who generously shared their perspectives and connection to recreational and subsistence fishing. In response, the artist generated a series of oil paintings reflecting the profound connection between local fishing communities and the coastline they animate. In addition to displaying this painting series in Long Beach, the artist will report back to NOAA internally, presenting the value of art as a tool for communication and relationship building within natural resources management.

Last updated by West Coast Regional Office on 11/06/2024