{"id":111833,"date":"2026-11-04T14:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-11-04T14:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=111833"},"modified":"2026-11-04T14:45:21","modified_gmt":"2026-11-04T14:45:21","slug":"uri-fisheries-expert-selected-as-fulbright-scholar-to-study-portugals-sardine-and-anchovy-populations","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2026\/11\/uri-fisheries-expert-selected-as-fulbright-scholar-to-study-portugals-sardine-and-anchovy-populations\/","title":{"rendered":"URI fisheries expert selected as Fulbright Scholar to study Portugal\u2019s sardine and anchovy populations"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Nov. 4, 2026 \u2013 University of Rhode Island fisheries scientist Austin Humphries<\/a> will bring his research on sustainable fisheries to Portugal this year after being selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humphries, professor and chair of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences<\/a> in URI\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences, will spend the spring semester at the Instituto Portugu\u00eas do Mar e da Atmosfera in Lisbon. There, he will work with researchers to develop models that predict how sardine and anchovy populations respond to rapidly changing ocean temperatures.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"Austin
The fisheries scientist will bring his research on sustainable fisheries to Portugal this year after being selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. (URI Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

The fellowship builds on Humphries\u2019 decades of research examining the connections among fish populations, marine ecosystems, and coastal communities. While much of his previous work has focused on international development and fisheries in low-income countries, the Fulbright opportunity will allow him to apply his expertise to a new context and set of challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The opportunity took on new urgency after cuts to USAID funding in 2025 impacted the research program Humphries had built for more than a decade, prompting him to look for new directions for his work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing selected as a Fulbright Scholar means a great deal to me because it gives me the chance to pivot\u2014to chart a new direction for my research going forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advancing sustainable fisheries<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Portugal, sardine and anchovy fisheries are woven into the fabric of daily life\u2014sustaining livelihoods on the water as well as on land in processing plants, canneries, and markets. These traditions stretch back many generations and that deep dependence is part of what drew Humphries to Portugal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Working with Susana Garrido and colleagues at the institute, Humphries will develop forecasting tools to help fisheries managers make informed decisions as ocean temperatures continue to cause changes in fish populations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The research builds directly on Humphries’ previous work, where his focus has long been on understanding how fish populations, the environment, and human use interact as a whole rather than in isolation. “This project lets me apply that same systems thinking to a new region and a new set of species,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Expanding opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Humphries expects the Fulbright to create lasting opportunities for URI students and faculty through international partnerships. “This connects URI more directly to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea’s Working Group on Small Pelagic Fishes,” he said, “which could open doors for students and colleagues working on fisheries issues and small pelagic fish around the world.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beyond the research, Humphries says there\u2019s a lot he\u2019s excited about. “Academically, I’m looking forward to learning from the European approach to ecosystem-based fisheries science and management, which tends to be more institutionally integrated into policy and modeling than what we typically see in the U.S.,” he said. “Personally, my family and I are excited to live in Lisbon and experience Portuguese culture together, especially the grilled sardines.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This story was written by Anna Gray in URI\u2019s College of the Environment and Life Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Nov. 4, 2026 \u2013 University of Rhode Island fisheries scientist Austin Humphries will bring his research on sustainable fisheries to Portugal this year after being selected as a Fulbright U.S. Scholar. Humphries, professor and chair of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences in URI\u2019s College of the Environment and Life […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":111834,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[5,1908,1909,1905],"class_list":["post-111833","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-archives","tag-college-of-the-environment-and-life-sciences","tag-faculty-excellence","tag-international","tag-research"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111833","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111833"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111833\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111837,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111833\/revisions\/111837"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111834"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111833"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111833"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111833"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}