Abstract:
The majority of coral reef fisheries are not managed for sustainability. Globally, this (i) increases the susceptibility of coral reef ecosystems to other stressors such as climate change, and (ii) threatens the livelihoods of around 6 million coral reef fishers and the food and nutritional security of around 500 million people who depend on coral reefs for food or income. Assessing and managing fisheries for sustainability requires clearly defined context-specific reference points (i.e., quantifiable targets or limits we may want to achieve or avoid with management) that embrace the multiple socio-ecological goals wanted from reef ecosystems. To date, given the data-poor (e.g., lack of reliable long-term fishery data) and multidimensional nature of most reef fisheries, these have been difficult to define.
In this talk, I will show how we are assessing and enhancing the sustainability of reef fisheries by harnessing innovative data science approaches and collaboration. I will outline some advancements we have made in this space at different spatial scales (e.g., globally and locally), under a diversity of geographic, environmental and socio-economic contexts, and incorporating different, often connected, management goals such as fisheries production, ecological functioning and nutrition security. I will conclude this talk showing how, in collaboration with scientists at KAUST and key stakeholders within the Kingdom, we can build upon this work to (i) inspire and empower the next generations of marine scientists, practitioners and leaders, and (ii) advance the theory and practice on how to effectively assess, enhance and sustainably manage reef fisheries and reef socio-ecological systems in the context of environmental change.

Bio:
Originally from the Spanish Pyrenees, Jessica Zamborain-Mason is a marine scientist who uses data science and collaboration to enhance the sustainability of coral reef fisheries under multiple ecological and social dimensions. Jessica’s research combines statistical and ecological models with remote sensing and observational data to increase our understanding of the performance of natural resources, human-environment interactions and inform resource management and policy at different spatial scales. By bridging disciplines and working closely with scientists and practitioners around the globe, Jessica’s work defines the conditions that lead to sustainability under different contexts, makes large-scale inferences on reefs and reef ecosystem services, and applies these to a wide range of stakeholder-relevant projects (e.g., throughout the Indo-Pacific). Jessica completed her PhD at James Cook University and the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef studies (Australia) in 2022. During her PhD, she took a long-term production and ecosystem function lens to fisheries, estimating sustainable reference points and assessing the status of multispecies coral reef fisheries at global and local scales. Currently, Jessica is a postdoctoral research associate within the Departments of Nutrition and Environmental Health at Harvard University (Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health). Jessica's current research takes a nutritional lens to fisheries, integrating nutritional outcomes into sustainability assessments and examining the consequences of climate change, human use and management on natural resources, human nutrition and public health. Overall, her goal is to harness multidisciplinary data science approaches to understand how marine socio-ecological systems work under environmental change, develop innovative tools to assess and enhance their sustainability and safeguard the multiple services ecosystems provide to societies.