Estuaries Section Member Profile

Lee Benaka

Where do you work currently and what do you do in your job?

I work for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries), in its Office of Sustainable Fisheries in Silver Spring, Maryland.  I am in the Office’s Domestic Fisheries Division and am the National Coordinator of the agency’s Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.  This mission of this program is to develop technological solutions and investigate changes in fishing practices designed to minimize bycatch of fish and protected species, as well as minimize bycatch injury and mortality.  I also serve on a team in my Division that coordinates with NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation on Essential Fish Habitat matters and manage a NOAA Fisheries bycatch feature website (http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/bycatch.htm).

Why do you belong to the Estuaries Section?

I joined the Estuaries Section because, upon completing my master’s degree at the University of Rhode Island, I was awarded a American Fisheries Society (AFS)/Sea Grant fellowship.  The purpose of my fellowship was to coordinate a symposium at an AFS annual meeting and edit an AFS proceedings volume based on that symposium.  The subject of my symposium was fish habitat, essential fish habitat, and habitat rehabilitation.  The mission of the Estuaries Section seemed very relevant to my work at the time.  My involvement with the Estuaries Section eventually expanded to serving as President (2000) and Treasurer (2001-2007).  I have found it very satisfying to see the Estuaries Section become revitalized through the leadership of some very talented Presidents since 2000.

What aspect of your career has most directly related to the interests of the Estuaries Section?

My work as an AFS/Sea Grant fellow, particularly in editing the proceedings volume Fish Habitat: Essential Fish Habitat and Rehabilitation (http://www.afsbooks.org/x54022xm.html), exposed me to issues of estuarine science and management and allowed me to meet and work with many members of the Estuaries Section. 

Please tell us something unusual about yourself.

I play fiddle in a traditional country music band called the Starlingtons (http://cdbaby.com/cd/starlingtons).  We performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, in 2006.