Shellfish Biologist Julie Barber to Speak at WWU Feb. 1

Julie Barber, senior shellfish biologist for the Swinomish Indian Tribe, will present "The Swinomish Shellfish Program: Management, Research, and Restoration Efforts" as part of the WWU Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, Feb.1 in Academic Center West room AW-204 on the Western Washington University campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) Fisheries Department focuses much of its work on finfish and shellfish resources. The Shellfish Program provides the Tribe with research, restoration, and technical assistance to achieve optimal benefits for its member fishers.

Currently, the program supports numerous projects including: shellfisheries management, bait clam fishery administration, subtidal and intertidal shellfish surveys, native clam population variability research, intertidal ecological research, clam garden development, Olympia oyster restoration and research, aquaculture ventures, and dive safety.

Within the Shellfish Program, SITC also supports the Swinomish Fisheries Climate Change Program (SFCCP), which works to assess climate change risks and vulnerabilities for shellfisheries and execute research efforts to fill knowledge gaps. This talk will include a discussion of treaty fishing rights and examples of ongoing and upcoming research projects including decadal change in intertidal clam populations and echinoderm dive surveys.

Barber leads a team of scientists in their efforts to research, restore, and manage the Tribe’s valuable shellfish resources. She has worked for Swinomish Fisheries for eight years. 

The Huxley College Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment at (360) 650-2949 or visit the website: https://huxley.wwu.edu/huxley-college-speaker-series.

Academic Center West (map): http://www.wwu.edu/map/?building=AW