Hello! I’m a Fisheries Biologist at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center as a contractor with Ocean Associates studying interactions between offshore energy and infrastructure, and fisheries management and fish population dynamics.

In my previous position I was studying marine carbon dioxide removal and carbon accounting. I was formerly at the US National Science Foundation in the Division of Ocean Sciences as a Knauss Fellow in ocean policy. I’m an alumna of the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at University of Washington, where I did my PhD with Dr. Tim Essington and Dr. Ray Hilborn. My name is pronounced Hel-AY-na Mic-MON-ah-gull and my pronouns are she/her.

By better understanding the ocean, the life it supports, and how we interact with it, we can enable better stewardship of the ocean. We as humans rely on the ocean for climate regulation, fisheries and other marine foods, the oxygen we breathe, recreation, transportation, shipping, energy, and more. Through informed decision-making processes that actively engage relevant partners and stakeholders, we can better ensure that these benefits can be accessed and enjoyed by future generations. I strive to do science and science communication that informs inclusive, science-based decision-making for the sustainable use of marine resources.

For my dissertation, I worked on describing and quantifying the carbon transport and sequestration associated with small but abundant fishes that live in the ocean’s twilight zone, and characterizing uncertainty in those estimates. These fishes play a role in sequestering carbon and moving energy up to higher levels in the marine food web. At the same time, there is interest in commercially harvesting these fishes to produce new sources of fishmeal. I was interested in working on the scientific basis for better understanding potential trade-offs between carbon sequestration and food security benefits of these fishes.

In my view, my role as a scientist is to advance and communicate the best scientific understanding that we have related to how the ocean’s food webs, fisheries, nutrient cycling, and other processes work so that society can make more informed ocean management decisions. To do so, I use a combination of oceanographic and ecological modeling, data collection at sea and in the lab, and two-way science communication with stakeholders. Other professional interests include storytelling through science, teaching, and engaging with policy-making processes. Outside of work you can find me hiking in the summer, cross-country skiing in the winter, and spending time with family and friends.

Linked above are my CV and publication list. My Github page is linked in the icon below. You can also find me on LinkedIn, and please feel free to get in touch with questions about the research I’m involved in, my code shared on Github, science policy, fisheries management, marine carbon dioxide removal, careers in ocean sciences, undergrad or grad school programs in environmental science, or other related topics.