“Out of adversity comes opportunity.” ~ Ben Franklin
This week is all about Sargassum in the Caribbean, the good, the bad, the ugly, and the opportunities! In this episode, I chat with Dr. Shelly-Ann Cox, an experienced ocean professional, fisheries management specialist, oceanpreneur, and mother of a 2-year old aqua-toddler. Shelly-Ann has ten years of experience in applied interdisciplinary climate-related research and fisheries management research. She holds an interdisciplinary Ph.D. in Natural Resource Management from the UWI Cave Hill Campus and a BSc (Hons) in Environmental and Natural Resource Management with Marine Biology from the UWI St. Augustine Campus.
Shelly-Ann is adept at stakeholder engagement and is well known for building, supporting and sustaining positive and productive relationships with stakeholders in the Caribbean fishing industry. She is currently engaged as Co-editor of the Subregional Sargassum Outlook Bulletin for the eastern Caribbean and has co-authored an article in the Journal Gulf and Caribbean Research entitled ‘Pelagic sargassum prediction and marine connectivity in the Tropical Atlantic’ which documents the methodology used for the forecast presented in the bulletins. Additionally, she has co-authored several sargassum related publications and technical reports including a recently published article entitled ‘Challenges of Turning the Sargassum Crisis into Gold: Current Constraints and Implications for the Caribbean’, the UNEP-CEP Sargassum White Paper 2021, the ‘Sargassum uses guide’, ‘Best practice guide for fishers coping with sargassum’ and a report on the ‘Relationships between Sargassum Events, Oceanic Variables, and Dolphinfish and Flyingfish Fisheries.
Together we have a lovely chat about the causes of the Sargassum invasion in the region, the socio-economic and environmental impacts, the challenges we as a region face in adapting to the influxes, and the opportunities for us to turn sargassum into a fruitful resource. The learn more about Dr Shelly-Ann visit her Instagram Blue Shell Pro or her website. 
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