Southeast Fisheries Science Center

Providing the scientific advice and data needed to effectively manage the living resources of the Southeast Region and Atlantic high seas.

Our Location

NOAA’s Southeast Region is among the most complex and diverse regions in the United States. It spans three large marine ecosystems:

  • Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico)
  • South Atlantic
  • Caribbean 

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center is headquartered in Miami, Florida and has facilities in Beaufort, North Carolina; Panama City, Florida; Pascagoula and Stennis, Mississippi; and Galveston, Texas. We also have researchers located in Lafayette, Louisiana, as well as port agents, fisheries observers and other staff stationed throughout the region.

Learn more about our facilities

The image used as the banner is a school of juvenile tomtate fish with staghorn coral. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Caitlin Langwiser.

What We Do

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Seven priorities of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
Priorities of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center.

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center provides the scientific advice and data needed to effectively manage the living marine resources of the Southeast region and Atlantic high seas. We work closely with NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office to provide independent, objective science.

Our multidisciplinary research informs natural resource management. Fisheries management councils, fisheries commissions, and federal, state and local agencies depend on our science to make decisions that protect and conserve the region’s living marine resources.

Our Divisions

Fisheries Assessment, Technology, and Engineering Support

The Fisheries, Assessment, Technology, and Engineering Support (FATES) Division provides essential services and development of new innovative technologies to support the center’s mission. 

Fisheries Statistics

The Fisheries Statistics Division provides extensive support to management and science through the collection, management, and dissemination of commercial and recreational fisheries statistics. The division works extensively with various internal and external partners to collect the fishery dependent information used to support marine resource management in the region.

Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles

The Marine Mammal and Turtle Division supports and conducts science that leads to improved knowledge and meaningful conservation of marine mammals and turtles and their habitats in a changing environment, helping to achieve NOAA Fisheries' mission of implementing the Marine Mammal Protection Act and Endangered Species Act and making a positive impact on society.

Operations, Management, and Information

The Operations, Management, and Information Division provides administrative and operational services including financial and acquisitions, information technology, human resources, facilities management, and safety and environmental compliance to support the center’s staff and research mission.

Population and Ecosystems Monitoring

The Population and Ecosystems Monitoring Division provides data, analytical products, research, and expertise to support NOAA Fisheries priorities. The division carries out fishery-independent surveys and applied research focused on fisheries and habitat ecology, and provides support for ecosystem- and climate-related initiatives in the region.

Sustainable Fisheries

The Sustainable Fisheries Division works in partnership with fisheries managers and constituents to provide reliable scientific advice that enhances the stewardship of living marine resources. The division also strives to advance scientific knowledge and promote diverse and sustainable fisheries through innovative research and development activities, and the use of advanced technologies.

Interdisciplinary Science

We work across these divisions and in collaboration with external partners to tackle complex issues requiring interdisciplinary approaches. These activities include conducting research to support ecosystem-based fisheries management, evaluating trade-offs in fisheries management to address competing objectives, using marine spatial planning to inform ocean use decision-making, studying the impacts of climate change to help prepare our fisheries and communities, and understanding the ecosystem impacts of major events such as oil spills.

NOAA SEFSC: We Are Here For You (1:11)

More Information

Our Leadership

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Clay Porch, Ph.D.

Director

Dr. Porch has held various positions with the agency for more than 25 years, winning multiple awards for his leadership and administrative capabilities. He has served as a member of the Science Center’s leadership team since 2006. He has overseen population assessments and research for vitally important domestic fish populations in the Gulf of America and Caribbean, as well as some in the South Atlantic and internationally for the International Commission for the Conservation of Tuna.

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Headshot of Trika Gerard

Trika Gerard, Ph.D.

Deputy Director for Science and Operations

As Deputy Director for Science and Operations, Dr. Gerard oversees the science center's administrative, budgetary, and information management activities. She also provides oversight to the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Division and the Population and Ecosystem Monitoring Division.

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John Walter, Ph.D.

Deputy Director for Science and Council Services

Dr. Walter has 13 years of experience conducting stock assessments. He has provided management advice to Regional Councils and to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). He serves in a number of leadership positions as chair of the ICCAT Western Bluefin Tuna Committee. Dr. Walter is also co-chair of the NOAA's National Management Strategy Evaluation working group. He has an extensive publication and collaboration record with numerous colleagues throughout the region and internationally.

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Management Team

Directorate

Fisheries, Assessment, Technology, and Engineering Support Division

Farron Wallace

Division Director

Fisheries Statistics Division

David Gloeckner, Ph.D.

Division Director

Marine Mammal and Turtle Division

Mridula Srinivasan, Ph.D.

Division Director

Operations, Management, and Information Division

Braydon Mikesell

Division Director

Population and Ecosystem Monitoring Division

Todd Kellison, Ph.D.

Division Director

Sustainable Fisheries Division

Shannon L. Cass-Calay, Ph.D.

Division Director