Tarsila Ferreira Seara
Tarsila Ferreira Seara
Tarsila Seara obtained her B.S. in Marine Biology from the Fluminense Federal University (UFF) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where she is originally from. She moved to the U.S. in 2008 to get her master’s and PhD degrees in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island. Between 2010 and 2015 she worked as a Research Assistant and later as a contractor for the NEFSC SSB stationed at the Narragansett Lab. Before rejoining the SSB in 2024, Tarsila was an Associate Professor at the University of New Haven where she taught and coordinated their Marine Affairs B.A. and master’s program in Marine Policy and Management. Tarsila’s research is focused on the application of quantitative and qualitative methods of social science research, as well as interdisciplinary efforts to inform fisheries policy and management decisions, particularly in the context of ecosystem-based approaches and adaptation of fishing communities to environmental and climate change. She has been involved in the development of climate change vulnerability indicators for fishing communities in the Northeast, South-Atlantic, and Gulf of Mexico in collaboration with fellow NOAA scientists. Tarsila has also worked closely with the Caribbean Fishery Management Council, serving as an SSC and EBFM Technical Advisory Panel member. She has also lead and participated in multiple research efforts in the U.S. Caribbean region, including the development of stakeholder driven conceptual models to inform the CFMC’s Ecosystem Fishery Plan.