Jonathon is a Massachusetts native who now calls Rhode Island home. Born and raised on Cape Cod, his interest in the marine environment began in earnest. Prior to enrolling as a graduate student at URI, he spent a year fishing the Gulf of Maine and Nantucket Sound on an in-shore dragger. Jonathon holds a B.A. in Public Policy from Hamilton College, and is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island.

Jonathon’s work as a Graduate Fellow represents a continuation of his master’s thesis project, Limited Entry in Rhode Island: Tracing an Idea from Open Access to License Limitation to Catch Shares. Jonathon’s graduate research seeks to learn if the new entry provisions of the 2002 Commercial Fishing Licenses Act are in conflict with catch share programs as currently structured, and if so, can the two be reconciled? As a Coastal Institute Graduate Fellow, Jonathon will apply the findings of his research to develop and propose policy options – and consider management implications of each option – for Rhode Island’s catch share pilot program, now in its third year. He plans to communicate his work and solicit feedback from stakeholders through a public meeting held at the Coastal Institute in April/May of 2011.