Jessica Blaylock

Originally from Switzerland, Jessica joined the NEFSC in 2007 as a contractor in the Population Dynamics Branch (PDB), where she worked on bycatch estimation and stock assessment support for about 7 years. She then moved to the Ecosystem Surveys Branch to help with research on the NEFSC's bottom trawl survey gear, and later joined the Cooperative Research Branch as analyst on the Gulf of Maine bottom longline survey team. In 2021, she became a federal employee as lead of the Industry-Funded Scallop observer program in the Fisheries Monitoring Operations Branch.  Jessica returned to the PDB in 2023 to focus fully on stock assessments and related research

Jessica received a B.S. in Wildlife Biology with a minor in Math from the University of Montana, a Master’s in Ecology from the University of Burgundy (France), and a Professional Science Master’s in Quantitative Fisheries from the University of Maryland-Eastern Shore.  Her primary interests are to use quantitative analysis and modeling to understand how wild populations respond to natural and anthropogenic changes.  In her free time, Jessica enjoys traveling, camping, hiking, sailing, skiing, and generally pursuing outdoor adventures with friends and family.