A group of Pitt students were published in the Journal of Science Policy and Governance

Five environmental studies students at the University of Pittsburgh wrote a paper that has been published in the most recent edition of the Journal of Science Policy and Governance.

The then undergraduates —Julia Evers, Trevor Freyvogel, Olivia Selkirk, Jillian Smith and Zoe Spaide — authored the paper, “Bycatch Mitigation Strategies in the Gulf of Alaska,” in Assistant Professor Patrick Shirey’s Environmental Law and Policy class.

The group’s paper recommends two measures to reduce bycatch — or animals that are catch and then discarded — in Alaska, which is dependent on commercial fishing for economic stability. The students recommend electronic monitoring on all vessels in the form of deep learning cameras as well as a “freeze the footprint” approach on bottom trawling to protect key seafloor habitats.