MESM 2021
Bio
Wes grew up on the ocean in a small New England fishing town. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2011 with a degree in Political Science and a capstone in Sustainability. Upon graduation, Wes joined a non-profit as a trail coordinator in the Andes of Peru. This experience led to five more years of outdoor education, backcountry guiding, and wilderness exploration. While exploring the fiords of Chilean Patagonia in 2018, Wes witnessed the ecological destruction caused by large salmon farms. Seeing the disconnect between seafood and ocean health was alarming, but it also made Wes curious. How could aquaculture benefit fisheries rather than pollute them? This question led him to Santa Barbara, where he spent the summer on an offshore shellfish farm before attending the Bren School. Wes is specializing in Coastal Marine Resource Management and pursuing an Eco-e project that will provide aquaculture solutions for purple urchin roe enhancement along the Central Coast