Bess Ruff

Hometown: Tupelo, Mississippi, USA

Fall 2021 – present

PhD in Geography

PEO Scholar Award

 

Educational/Professional Background

I have a bachelor's degree in economics from Washington & Lee University and a Master's of Environmental Science and Management from the Bren School at the University of California-Santa Barbara. I have worked on marine spatial planning and coastal management projects throughout the Caribbean, including on-site work in Antigua & Barbuda, Bermuda, Cuba, and Curacao.

Research and Teaching Interests, or Professional Field

The farming of seafood in our oceans, known as marine aquaculture, is an alternative form of food production that can meet the demand for animal protein and support global food security, and, when implemented in the right way, it is one of the most sustainable methods of animal protein production. Despite vast amounts of ocean space worldwide with suitable growing conditions, mariculture development has been slow and geographically heterogeneous, indicating that there are other industry drivers, such as economics, society, and policy, that are dictating where the industry expands. My research evaluates these potential drivers of the marine aquaculture industry at national, regional, and global scales so that we can better understand where and why the industry is expanding.