Marine Advisory Service specialists honored
Two Delaware Sea Grant (DESG) Marine Advisory Service specialists were honored by the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Network at its biennial meeting in April. Ed Hale, aquaculture and fisheries specialist, won the 2022 Early Career Achievement Award, and Danielle Swallow, coastal hazards specialist, brought home the Outstanding Outreach Award for the year.
“I’m so happy and proud that Delaware Sea Grant won these two important regional awards,” Marine Advisory Service (MAS) Director Chris Petrone said. “Most of the Marine Advisory Service staff has been onboard less than five years, and for them to have such big impact in such a short amount of time is a testament to their skills, abilities, and drive to help solve issues here in the state.”
Hale is an assistant professor in the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy in addition to an MAS specialist. He won the Early Career Achievement Award for his efforts in research, education and extension. Prominent among his accomplishments that merited the award are two projects at opposite ends of the state. Hale has studied the impact of the Brandywine River dam removal project in Wilmington to see whether the changes are benefiting American shad as intended, using the process of research itself to engage and educate the community and volunteers. And he has led the effort to create the state’s first oyster hatchery on UD’s Hugh R. Sharp Campus in Lewes, addressing a major bottleneck for increased production of aquaculture oysters. That effort has already garnered significant attention locally, even as the hatchery is awaiting filtration delayed by supply chain issues before it can begin operation.
“Sea Grant is an excellent organization. And I feel very fortunate to work with some great people engaging with various communities every single day. I am proud of the work they do and the work I do,” Hale said. “To be recognized formally by a group of folks for my own contributions was a very special event. I am very appreciative of the support and acknowledgment provided by Sea Grant.”
Swallow was also honored for work benefiting southern Delaware, earning the Outstanding Outreach Award for the assistance and leadership she provided to “Cape Community Coordination for COVID-19 (CCC4COVID).” Swallow helped the ad hoc community group make connections with emergency management agencies and assess the skills needed to effectively provide support for residents of the Cape Region who needed help because of the pandemic and lockdown. Swallow’s efforts increased the group’s capacity for emergency response, and it is now developing into a permanent resilience network, called the Cape Community Coalition, that can respond to future emergencies.
“The pandemic showed us that some populations are more impacted than others by an emergency. Social networks like CCC4COVID are a form of social capital that helps communities respond and recover from disasters, and as coastal hazards specialist with Sea Grant, I knew that grooming this network into a permanent organization would help improve community resilience to future disasters,” Swallow said. “I am honored by this award, and I share it with all of the members of this phenomenal network.”
As the winner of the Mid-Atlantic Sea Grant Region’s outreach award, Swallow’s project will be considered for the National Sea Grant Network’s award later this year.
DESG Director Joanna York said the Sea Grant awards, whether regional or national, indicate the value of the work MAS does, as assessed by others doing the same kind of work in their own local communities.
“The work that Ed and Danielle have been involved in has had a really important impact on communities here in Delaware. These awards—from our peers in the Sea Grant community—underline even more the value of their work,” York said. “I am so proud of their efforts and am excited to see more to come from them, and from others with Delaware Sea Grant!”