Fellowship launches career in fisheries social science

Cordova’s fishing community recently gathered for a climate adaptation workshop, focused on addressing the unique challenges facing Alaska’s fishing economies in a rapidly changing climate. Among the key contributors to this conversation was Marysia Szymkowiak, a former Alaska Sea Grant State Fellow, whose research continues to help shape fisheries adaptation in the Gulf of Alaska region.

Szymkowiak brings over a decade of experience studying the human dimensions of Alaska’s fisheries. Her work explores how communities derive value from fisheries and how a multitude of factors, including climate change, management practices, market dynamics, and sociocultural shifts, are reshaping the lives of fishermen and fishing communities. 

For her Alaska Sea Grant State Fellowship in 2015—the first year of the program—she worked with NOAA fisheries. This led to her current work as a research social scientist at NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center, where she applies mixed-methods approaches to ensure that community voices are heard in the development of policy. One of her ongoing projects is developing climate adaptation plans for fishing economies in the Gulf of Alaska.

The Cordova workshop is just one of many efforts Szymkowiak is leading in collaboration with community partners in Kodiak, Sitka, and Cordova. Together, they are developing locally tailored adaptation plans that assess the vulnerability of fishing communities based on their specific capital assets and unique challenges. This work builds on her previous research examining how fishing families in the Gulf of Alaska have adapted to multifaceted changes over several decades, how fishermen are experiencing and responding to climate change, and how their capacity to adapt is affected by other stressors.

Szymkowiak has also made a significant contribution to understanding the role of women in fisheries, both in Alaska and globally. Her research highlights the vital role women play in supporting fishing family adaptive capacity, as well as their unique vulnerabilities when fisheries systems experience shocks or disruption.

Her work continues to reflect the commitment of former Alaska Sea Grant State Fellows to make lasting, positive change in the state’s fisheries and beyond. As the challenges of climate change grow more urgent, Szymkowiak’s work is helping to guide both the science and the policies that will shape the future of Alaska’s fishing communities. Through her collaborations, she is ensuring that these communities are not just surviving but adapting to an uncertain future, with resilience at the forefront of their plans.

“Climate is a catalyst for conversations about resilience that our fishing communities need to be having anyway,” said Szymkowiak. “And they are ready. We have had great, diverse turnout to our workshops, bringing together fishermen, Tribal partners, city planners, economic development groups, local scientists, and so on. Resilience for our fishermen and fishing communities has to be driven by these types of local knowledge exchanges to develop community-driven solutions.”