By the end of the semester students will be able to:

• Understand the role of marine fisheries and aquaculture in world food production along with the social, economic, legal, and scientific issues in fisheries management
• Examine the human and environmental impacts of the sea and its uses on the New England and Gulf of Maine regions
• Obtain knowledge regarding the marine resource use and management from colonial to modern times.

Seth Macinko received his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Plymouth (U.K.), his Master of Arts degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Miami, and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley. In 2002 he joined the Marine Affairs department at URI as an assistant professor and coordinator of the Ph.D. program. His research interests include fisheries management, property rights, and cultural resources of fishing communities.

Seth returned to the University in January 2012 after a yearlong sabbatical. During that time, he spent part of the summer bringing a 40-year-old sailboat from the Gulf coast of Florida to Rhode Island, including memorable stints crossing Lake Okeechobee and sailing 15 miles offshore of Georgia under full moon in 25 feet of water. He spent the fall semester in Bristol, England where he worked with a colleague at the University of the West of England (UWE) on the public right of fishing in common law countries. While in the UK, he presented at the "Empowering Coastal Community Stakeholders" Symposium on the Isle of Arran in October and at the Oceans Symposium at the University of Oxford in November.

Seth serves on the Rhode Island Marine Fisheries Council, the Scientific and Statistical Committee of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and the Science Panel of the North Pacific Research Board.

Anyone interested in the history of fishing or human impacts on New England's coasts would benefit from taking this class.