headshot of Jessica Couture

PhD Graduate

Year Admitted
2016

Year Graduated
2021

Research Areas
Aquaculture/mariculture, fisheries interactions, feeds, data science.

Faculty Advisor
Steve Gaines

Committee
Darcy Bradley, Roland Geyer, Ben Halpern

Dissertation Title & Abstract

Sustainable Aquaculture for a Resource Limited Future

Aquaculture is the fastest growing food sector in the world, and is expanding in an increasingly resource limited world. Promoted for being an efficient source of animal protein, aquaculture growth adds pressure to existing systems that are already highly stressed. This work focuses on how aquaculture interacts with other sectors to better understand how to produce seafood in a way that minimizes additional strain or leads to benefits. In this talk Jessica considers how to plan for aquaculture expansion into the future, aquaculture’s dependence on agricultural inputs, and interactions with wild capture fisheries.

Education
MESM, Bren School, UC Santa Barbara
BS, Marine Biology, UC Santa Cruz