Areas of Expertise

• Arctic and Pacific Northwest Conservation Issues
• Sustainable Fisheries
• Ecosystem-based Management
• Fisheries Policy
• Tribal Co-management

Becca joined Ocean Conservancy in 2005 to work on international Arctic issues as the organization was expanding its Arctic program. Today, she manages the program to ensure governments, local communities and ocean advocates are fighting to protect a region that is already feeling the impacts of global climate change. Becca works closely with Alaska tribes and other grassroots organizations to ensure our work in the Arctic is sustainable and resilient. She also leads our work on ecosystem-based fisheries management in the North Pacific.

Becca’s love for the ocean started at a young age. A family membership at the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut sparked her love for marine mammals.  Time spent on the Cape Cod seashore solidified the ocean as her favorite ecosystem. As a law student studying fisheries policy and international human rights, Becca interned at the Ocean Conservancy’s Anchorage office in 2004. Like many, a summer in Alaska captured Becca’s heart, and she returned to the state after graduation.

Her previous experience includes working on fishery management and Alaska Native rights for the Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, and in private practice with the law firm Hobbs, Straus, Dean and Walker, LLP.

Becca served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Advisory Panel for six years, including two as Chair, and now serves on the North Pacific Research Board. She lives in Bellingham, Washington and considers herself incredibly lucky to get to live by the Salish Sea and work on Alaska and Arctic conservation.

Education

• J.D., University of California, Hastings College of the Law
• B.A. with high honors, Stanford University

My Favorite Thing About the Ocean

Seals! Whether an everyday harbor seal seen from my kayak on an after work paddle, or the spectacular ribbon seal, I love all kinds of seals. Even my dog, a black lab, looks like a seal from the water! My love for seals goes back to age 5 when I refused to go backpacking unless my parents carried my life-size stuffed baby harp seal with us. Short story: they carried the seal (and my sister’s matching one!). I still love seals and backpacking.

Recent Publications

• Janis S. Jones, Andrew Hartsig & Becca R. Gisclair, Advancing a Network of Safety Measures in the Bering Strait Region: Now is the Time, 25 Ocean & Coastal L.J. 64 (2020). [PDF]

Select Publications

• Salmon Bycatch Management in the Bering Sea Pollock Fishery: Threats and Opportunities for Western Alaska, Pacific Salmon: Ecology and Management of Western Alaska’s Populations, American Fisheries Society, Symposium 70: 799–816 (2009); Presentation, February 2007.
• Unintended Catch: Bycatch of Yukon River Salmon in the Pollock Fishery, Fishermen’s News (March 2006).
• The Ships Passed By: Can Anti-dumping Laws Help Save Ocean Resources and Traditional Fisheries? West-Northwest Journal of Environmental Law and Policy (Summer 2005).
• Oil and Natural Gas in Siberia vs. the Nenets, Briefing Reports in Paradigm Wars: Indigenous Peoples’ Resistance to Economic Globalization (Jerry Mander and Victoria Tauli-Corpuz, eds., 2005).
• Globalization’s Catch: Shrimp Industry Threatens Communities and Ecosystems Worldwide, Environmental News Network (Nov. 21, 2003).

Media Mentions

• NPFMC adopts new management plan for quickly-changing Bering Sea. SeafoodSource.