CFRF STAFF

Dr. N. David Bethoney - Executive Director

David Bethoney (Dave) serves as the Executive Director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been in this position since March 2020. As Executive Director he works with the staff, interns, and consultants to carry out all tasks associated with ongoing projects and general administration. He also pursues new partnerships and projects under the advisement of the Board of Directors.

Background:

Dave graduated from Colby College in 2008 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a concentration in Environmental Science. While at Colby, Dave spent a semester with the Sea Education Association documenting change in the Caribbean and sailing on the SSV Corwith Cramer from St. Croix, USVI to Key West, Florida with research stops at Montserrat, Dominican Republic, and Jamaica. After graduating from Colby, he moved on to the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) where he earned a master’s degree in Living Marine Resource Management in 2010. His master’s thesis examined the relationship between diet and epizootic shell disease in the American lobster. Dave stayed at SMAST to earn his PhD in 2013 with a dissertation focused on understanding and avoiding river herring and American shad bycatch in the Atlantic herring and mackerel mid-water trawl fisheries. In the fall of 2014, he became a Research Assistant Professor at SMAST and developed a research program on the foundation of practical application and direct engagement with the fishing industry. This led to a diverse portfolio of research projects with study areas of meters to tens of thousands of kilometers, areas as different as mid-coast Maine and off the coast of Argentina, and topics as varied as sea cucumber survey development and the impact of offshore windfarm development. His major projects in the New England region were continuing the river herring bycatch avoidance program developed during his dissertation and conducting drop camera surveys to support Atlantic sea scallop management.  

Teresa winneg - Business Manager

Terry Winneg serves as the Business Manager of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been in this position since July 2012. Prior to joining the Foundation, Terry worked as a full charge bookkeeper for a landscape architectural firm in Rhode Island. She has held various financial positions in the field of accounting over the past 20 years in Rhode Island, Hawaii, Virginia, and Maine.

Background

Terry holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from the University of Rhode Island and has +20 years of experience working in the field. In the past, she has worked as a bookkeeper, budget & cost analyst, profit analyst, and bid proposal analyst.  She is a 2015 QuickBooks certified user.

Vincent Deingeniis - Research Biologist

Vincent (Vinny) is a Research Biologist for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since April 2024. He is assisting in the ventless lobster trap surveys, telemetry research, automatic squid jig projects, and automatic fish jig surveys.

Background

Vinny received his Bachelor's degree in Marine Affairs with a minor in Aquaculture and Fisheries Studies from the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 2022. Vinny also attended URI to receive his Master’s in Marine Affairs, which he completed in 2024. Vinny’s thesis research focused on ambient water quality monitoring related to stormwater management in the Greenwich Bay watershed within Warwick and East Greenwich Rhode Island. During his undergraduate and graduate studies at URI, Vinny worked as an intern at the Marine Ecosystem Research Laboratory (MERL) for two and a half years. At MERL, Vinny assisted in long-term ambient water quality monitoring efforts within Narragansett Bay; these efforts were directed towards monitoring for hypoxic or low oxygen events in the Bay. Vinny is passionate about the management of marine resources especially within Rhode Island waters through field work and research opportunities with CFRF. 

Ruby Dener - Research Biologist

Ruby is a Research Biologist for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been with the CFRF since October 2024. Her work focuses on the CFRF’s trawl and conservation gear engineering work, including the South Fork Wind Farm Beam Trawl Survey, Revolution and Sunrise Wind Otter Trawl Survey, and Scallop Dredge Bag Modifications study.

Background

Ruby graduated in 2020 from Cornell University with a B.S. in Environment & Sustainability, a concentration in Environmental Policy & Governance, and a minor in Marine Biology. During undergraduate she was a semester student at Shoals Marine Laboratory, a research assistant at the Cornell Biological Field Station on Oneida Lake, and a member of SEA Semester S-284 and studied aboard the SSV Robert C. Seamans in New Zealand. After graduation, she moved to Maine to become a shellfish biotoxin monitor for the state’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR), and subsequently worked with commercial lobstermen as the sole technician for the Gulf of Maine’s first broad-scale offshore larval lobster survey. In 2022, she transitioned to Southern New England to work as the lead research diver and technician for a deep sea ecology lab at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography. In the Spring of 2023, Ruby returned to fisheries focused work as an Assistant Area Lead for Industry Funded Scallop and the Maximized Retention Electronic Monitoring programs with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. Her goal is to work collaboratively with industry to effectively monitor and maintain marine resources for future generations of fishermen and consumers.

dr. susan inglis - Senior RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Susan is a Senior Research Associate for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been with CFRF since October 2020. Susan’s work focuses on projects assessing the vulnerability of Atlantic sea scallops and the resilience of fishing communities to climate change and the impact of salinity maximum intrusions on commercial fisheries. She leads CFRF’s ghost gear projects and Health and Safety program. She is also analyzing Lobster Crab Research Fleet data to study lobster shell disease in Narragansett Bay.  

BACKGROUND

Susan graduated from the University of British Columbia with a Master’s degree focused on aquaculture fisheries science and then moved north to Alaska to earn her PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks.  While in Alaska, she worked as an at-sea observer for seismic surveys in the Chukchi Sea and lead observer in the Beaufort Sea. Before joining CFRF, Susan worked for 10 years as a Research Associate at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) studying abiotic and biotic effects on Atlantic sea scallop growth, shell biochemistry, and disease processes. Her projects included collecting historical knowledge from scallop fishermen through interviews as well as monitoring scallop meat quality at scallop auctions. She also helped develop and lead a Stakeholder Group to study the effects of disease on scallop yield.

michael long - Senior RESEARCH biologist

Mike joined the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation in March 2018 and is a Senior Research Biologist. He is the project lead for the SFWF Ventless Trap Survey, Revolution Wind Ventless Trap Survey, Lobster Soundscape, SFWF Telemetry Survey, and Ike Jime projects.

BACKGROUND

Mike received a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Rhode Island in 2014 where he studied Aquaculture and Fisheries Technology and participated in fisheries research projects including the URI GSO fish trawl survey, lobster trap species and size selectivity, juvenile blue crab abundance and distribution, and whelk fishery dynamics.  Following graduation from URI, he participated in a one-year internship with the CFRF, in which he assisted with the WHOI Shelf Research Fleet project and BOEM Offshore Wind Energy project which identified potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on fisheries resources in the Northeast region.  Michael also served as a sea sampler with the Southern New England Cooperative Ventless Trap Survey during its first year of surveys in 2014.  Michael continued his fisheries research as a Master’s student at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and Massachusetts Audubon Society’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary where he conducted horseshoe crab acoustic telemetry, mark-recapture, and spawning abundance studies.

LuCA McGinnis - Research Biologist

Luca started as a Research Biologist for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation in June 2023. They assist with the ventless trap surveys, SFWF Fish Pot Survey, and the spider crab project and also manage the foundation’s research and safety equipment.

Background

Luca received their Bachelor’s degree in Marine Science from Boston University in 2018, where they participated in ecological research in the Gulf of Maine, Belize, and Ecuador, and completed an honors thesis investigating morphological differences between sympatric species of sand eels. During and after their time at BU, Luca volunteered with Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary helping with sand eel grab surveys and seabird tagging. Afterward, they attended the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) to pursue a master’s degree in Living Marine Resource Management. Their graduate work focused on standardizing fishery catch rates as abundance indices for groundfish stock assessments. Perspectives from fishermen were critical to this research and strengthened Luca’s desire to work cooperatively with commercial fishermen. Luca’s goal is to leverage their background in ecology and quantitative fisheries science to help support the environmental, economic, and institutional sustainability of marine fisheries. 

John Moore - Research Associate

John (Jack) is a Research Associate for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since November 2023. Jack’s work focuses on ghost gear removal from Rhode Island waters and windfarm monitoring surveys, and he also assists with the implementation of our safety-at-sea management plan.

background

Jack Moore graduated the University of Rhode Island in 2011 with a Bachelor’s degree in Wildlife Conservation Biology. After graduation, Jack chose to enter the commercial fisheries industry as a deckhand, immersing himself in life and work on the water. His first season was spent drift gillnetting in southeast Alaska. Afterwards, he moved back to his hometown of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, and continued fishing out of Point Judith. He participated in several fisheries including offshore lobster and Jonah crab, inshore gillnet, and inshore and offshore dragging. During his time as a deckhand he obtained a commercial fishing license and started his own inshore fish potting business on the side. Having spent over a decade working in Point Judith, Jack has become part of the fabric of a tight-knit community. He hopes to use the relationships he’s forged and his firsthand experience with the industry to further the conservation of the local sustainable fisheries he has been a part of.

noelle Olsen - SENIOR research biologist

Noelle is a Senior Research Biologist for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been with CFRF since May 2021. Noelle is the lead for the Shelf Research Fleet, Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet, spider crab project, and SFWF Fish Pot survey. She also assists with the Salinity Maximum Intrusions project.

Background

Noelle graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology and a minor in Marine Science from Boston University in 2013. She then participated in an internship with Whale and Dolphin Conservation in Plymouth, MA where she collected marine mammal behavioral data and did outreach with passengers aboard commercial whale-watching vessels. Noelle received her Master’s degree in the Marine Estuarine Environmental Sciences program at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore in 2018. Her graduate research investigated the sexual maturity and reproductive biology of Jonah crabs in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and involved going out on commercial black sea bass and lobster boats. Noelle was a Sea Grant Knauss Fellow in 2018 in the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology (OST) working on fisheries bycatch issues with the National Observer Program. She then worked as a contractor in the OST Economics and Social Analysis Division primarily focusing on recreational fisheries socioeconomic projects.

Matthew Rodriguez - Research Biologist

Matt joined the Commercial Fisheries Research Biologist in August 2023 as a Research Biologist. His work focuses on leading the CFRF’s alternative gear research, including our automatic squid jig projects and automatic fish jig surveys.

backgrounD

Matt graduated from Florida State University with his Bachelors of Science in Biology in 2016. While an undergraduate he participated in several ongoing monthly shark surveys with the Florida State Coastal and Marine Laboratory. From there he worked towards his Master of Science in Coastal Marine and Wetlands Studies from Coastal Carolina University starting in 2018 investigating the hydrodynamic characteristics of the Shortfin Mako shark utilizing the flow imaging technique particle image velocimetry (PIV). Matt began working for the Fish and Wildlife Research Institute at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission in 2022 taking part in monthly surveys of fish and invertebrate species in Apalachicola Bay, Florida as well as participating in a collaborative research effort offshore to video fish assemblages and species composition in the Gulf of Mexico.

Rebecca Smoak- Research Biologist

Rebecca (Becky) is a Research Biologist at the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since March 2024. She leads the CFRF’s sea scallop projects, including the Sea Scallop Image-Based Research Fleet, ScallApp, and Scallop Ocean Acidification projects.

background

Becky received her B.S. in Earth and Environmental Science with minors in biology and forestry from Washington State University in 2020. She earned her M.S. in Marine Resource Management in the College of Earth, Ocean, & Atmospheric Sciences at Oregon State University (OSU) in 2023. Upon entrance to graduate school, she was awarded the 2020-21 Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies Graduate Fellowship, as well as the 2021 Oregon Sea Grant Malouf Marine Studies Scholarship. Her graduate studies investigated the oceanographic drivers of Northern California Current phytoplankton communities and their fatty acid composition. This led to the creation of phytoplankton-based indicators of food quality which benefited state agencies, NOAA fisheries management, and the fishing industry. During her time with the Seascape Ecology Lab at OSU, she worked in collaboration between scientists at Oregon State University and NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC). Following graduate school, Rebecca worked for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife as a Natural Resource Specialist. There she worked with the Razor clam and Dungeness crab fishery tracking harmful algal blooms and food quality to increase spatial and temporal data collection for state managers. Her goal is to conduct cooperative research with fishermen to collect best available science for sustainable fisheries

Elizabeth Soranno - Research Biologist

Elizabeth (Lizzy) is a Research Biologist at the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since July 2023. She is assisting with the ventless lobster trap surveys, Black Sea Bass Research Fleet, and Winter Juvenile Black Sea Bass Survey projects.

background

Lizzy received her B.S. in Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Science from Northeastern University (NEU) in 2021. As an undergrad, she participated in two internships and an NSF REU, assisting with paleoclimate, marine DNA preservation, and macroalgal-focused projects, respectively. Shortly after, she completed her M.S. in Marine Biology through NEU’s Three Seas program in 2022. Lizzy’s graduate research focused on fish and macroinvertebrate use of restored oyster reefs in southern Rhode Island coastal lagoons. This led to a better understanding of how oyster reefs can support a higher density and biomass of reef species than unstructured mud habitat. Throughout her graduate program, she also engaged in multiple, smaller research projects at the University of Hawai‘i and the University of Washington. She then continued working at NEU as a lab technician in the fisheries ecology lab and as an outreach and education assistant. Lizzy’s aim is to utilize her experiences in a variety of marine ecological topics to conduct effective, cooperative research that supports sustainable fisheries.

LINUS STOLTZ - DATA MANAGER

Linus is the Data Manager for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since April 2023. His work is focused on providing information technology support to CFRF, managing the CFRF Research Fleet database, and aiding or leading in the analysis of data.

Background

Linus received his BS in Marine Biology from the University of North Carolina Wilmington in 2017. After graduation, he worked for the NC Division of Marine Fisheries (NCDMF) Gear Development Section working with commercial shrimpers to reduce bycatch in the shrimp trawl fishery. While with NCDMF, he transitioned to the Habitat Enhancement Section, building artificial reefs and sampling oyster sanctuaries throughout NC. In 2021, Linus received his MS in Marine Resource Management from Oregon State University. His thesis research focused on understanding oxygen dynamics along the Oregon coast by developing a fishery-based observing network called Fishermen Investigating Seasonal Hypoxia (FISH). After graduation, Linus expanded the FISH project more regionally throughout the Pacific Northwest and served as the lead for the profiler moorings deployed as part of the Ocean Observatories Initiative Endurance Array. His goal is to see valuable fishery-based observations integrated into analysis and utilized to understand better the challenges facing our marine resources.

victoria thomas - research associate

Victoria (Tori) is a Research Associate for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has held this position since January 2023. She is the lead for the Whelk Research Fleet. She also assists with collaborative projects assessing the vulnerability of sea scallop fishing communities to climate change, the Salinity Maximum Intrusions project, and the Ghost Gear Removal project.

Background

Tori graduated in 2013 from Moravian College with a B.A. in Environmental Policy & Economics with a focus in Fisheries Economics. Upon graduating she began as an At-Sea Monitor in the Northeast fisheries observer program working in ports from Maine to North Carolina. From there she became an At- sea technician with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science participating in annual Sea Scallop surveys. In 2017 Tori began working full-time as a deckhand in Point Judith on the F/V Brooke Elise. Her goal was to see firsthand the gear modifications and effort made in order to target certain species and how the market operated. Her relationship with the industry strengthened her understanding of the importance of wild-caught seafood and the ways in which to promote sustainable fishing practices. She has worked in multiple fisheries on trawl, gillnet & scallop vessels. She became a Fisheries Liaison in 2021 to be a voice for the industry in wind farm surveys and development. Her hope is to apply her marine science background and commercial fishing experience to educate the public and support the fishing community.

hannah verkamp - Senior research Associate

Hannah is a Senior Research Associate for the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and has been with the CFRF since February 2021. She is the project lead for the Black Sea Bass Research Fleet, SFWF Beam Trawl Survey, and Winter Juvenile Black Sea Bass Survey projects. Hannah also leads the CFRF’s outreach and education program.

Background

Hannah graduated from the University of Arkansas in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology. Hannah then received her Master's degree in Marine Science from the University of New England in Maine. While studying at UNE, Hannah worked in a shark and fish research lab, where she led projects on shark reproduction for her Master’s thesis and participated in several fisheries research projects evaluating the effects of capture and handling on bycatch species. Hannah is passionate about science outreach and education and loves to connect with students and the public to share her work and research interests.