Advanced academic programs focuses on fisheries management are now available from the University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii is set to embark on an exciting new venture, with the launch of advanced degree programs in fisheries management. This initiative, supported by organizations such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Western Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Council, aims to provide advanced studies in fisheries management, with a focus on Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians.
Kanoe Morishige, a new assistant professor at UH, will be at the helm of this program. Having attended Kamehameha Schools and studied Hawaiian studies at UH-Hilo, Morishige brings a unique blend of Hawaiian cultural knowledge and Western fisheries management practices to the table. She will begin teaching in the program this week.
The program's goal is to keep Hawaii students from pursuing advanced degrees on the mainland, where they may study species not found in Hawaiian waters. NOAA and the Division of Aquatic Resources are also interested in any research that comes out of UH, especially nearshore fisheries research.
Professor Ray Hilborn, a member of the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council's Science and Statistics Committee, has praised the new programs. Hilborn, who specializes in the management of Pacific salmon and aquatic ecological research in Alaska, called the UH's undergraduate marine biology program noteworthy.
Drazen, who will help lead the new degree programs, mentioned that there was a gap in fisheries education at UH that needed to be filled. The university has already hired eight faculty members for the new master's and doctorate degree programs in sustainable fisheries management.
Morishige wants to help local students, especially female scientists, merge Hawaiian management practices with Western techniques and up-to-date research. She believes that the new program will provide an opportunity to embed knowledge of Indigenous cultures into the program.
Officials in Palau, the Marshall Islands, Fiji, and other countries around the Pacific have shown interest in sending their students to UH for the new fisheries management advanced degree programs. Trump's slashing of the federal workforce might limit job opportunities with the federal government for the University of Hawaii graduates, but Drazen believes that there will still be a need for local jobs in fishery science or management with government agencies, nonprofit organizations, or academia.
Environmentalists, the longline fishing industry, NOAA, and the state's Division of Aquatic Resources support the new degree program. The program is scheduled to be in full swing in the fall of 2026. With its focus on Pacific Islanders and Native Hawaiians, the new fisheries management program at the University of Hawaii promises to make a significant contribution to the field.
