Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Units Program:
Education, Research and Technical Assistance for Managing Our Natural Resources

Staff Member

T. Scott Smeltz

PhD
Email: ts428@cornell.edu

Biography

I am originally from Pennsylvania, but now live in Alaska. I completed my undergraduate degree in Biology at Penn State University in 2005 and a Master's degree in Environmental Science at Alaska Pacific University in 2013. My graduate work focused on terrestrial ecology, specifically how climate change is driving vegetation changes in Alaska. After completing my Master's degree, I shifted focus to the marine world. My current work as a PhD student at Cornell is developing geospatial models to help fisheries managers assess impacts to marine habitats from commercial fishing and use these tools to consider policy tradeoffs between marine spatial closures and fishing gear modifications.

Research Publications Publication Date
Smeltz TS, Harris B, Olson J, Sethi SA. A seascape scale habitat model to support management of fishing impacts on benthic ecosystems. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. 76:1836-1844. | Abstract September 2019
Moriarity M, Sethi SA, Pedreschi D, Smeltz TS, McGonigle C, Harris BP, Wolf N, Greenstreet SPR. (2020) Combining fisheries surveys to inform marine species distribution modelling. ICES Journal of Marine Science 77:539-552. | Abstract March 2020
Project Completion Date
Managing for long term sustainability of seafood production from bottomtendered wild capture fisheries: evaluating tradeoffs between spatial closures versus gear modification January 2022
Presentations Presentation Date
“Seascape-level fishing impacts modeling to assess tradeoffs between spatial closures and gear modifications,” T Smeltz et al. (SA Sethi 2nd), International Council for Exploration of the Sea FTFB Working Group, Hirtshals, Denmark. June 2018
“A seascape scale fishing impacts model to assess tradeoffs between spatial closures and gear modifications,” T Smeltz et al. (SA Sethi 2nd), Western Division American Fisheries Society, Anchorage, AK. May 2018
“A seascape scale fishing impacts model to assess tradeoffs between spatial closures and gear modifications,” S Smeltz, SA Sethi, B Harris. Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK. January 2018
SA Sethi et al. 2016. "Oceanscape models inform policy options to manage seafloor impact from commercial fishing," Computational Sustainability Conference, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. July 2016
B Harris et al. (SA Sethi 4th). 2017. “Seascape-scale modelling of benthic habitat disturbance from commercial fishing activities.” AK Chapter, American Fisheries Society meeting, Fairbanks, AK. March 2017
A Nimick et al. (SA Sethi 5th). 2017. “Fishing effects in 3D – it’s not all about bottom contact anymore.” AK Chapter, American Fisheries Society meeting, Fairbanks, AK. March 2017
TS Smeltz et al. (SA Sethi 4th). 2017. “Seascape-scale modelling of benthic habitat disturbance from commercial fishing activities,”NY Chapter, American Fisheries Society meeting, Buffalo, NY. February 2017