Midpoint reflection-Experience at EDF

Why I applied to the MIIS IEP program, I was aspired to be a environmental “communicator” that merges the gaps between science and policy, and the cultural/political barrier between different nations that from collaborating effectively in solving the common threat of climate change. I also wish to be involved in some revolutionary work regarding ocean conservation. I’ve been searching for a role that tackles all of the aspects I desire, and here comes the perfect match.

My internship at EDF combines international trade, environmental science, economics and knowledge of fishery. This is nothing more “MIIS” than this. I work under the China Ocean team as a fishery evaluation intern, and the scope of my work is incredible global. China is the largest seafood consumer in the world, and China’s national supply can’t suffice its growing marked needs. In fact, China’s EEZ had been severely overfished in the past decades and the coastal governments are looking for ways to restore the stocks while importing more seafood from other countries to satisfy the market needs. The global seafood trade is very likely going to be affected by climate change and policy changes. My job this summer was to 1. Compile the seafood trade flow data between China and its global suppliers; 2. Analyzed the Climate Impact on the major species that China is importing. 3. Compile a case study of sustainable fishery management policy& practice globally for the Fujian Fishery Institute in China. 

I had been dreaming to work for Environmental Defense Fund and EDF has proven to me that it is an awesome organization that attracts truly passionate people. I was humbled by the knowledge that my co-workers had every day, and I felt so respected even as a temporary intern. Beside doing my independent project at the office, I also listened to various webinars that EDF organized. The webinars covered a variety of environmental topics that EDF had focused on and had some ground-breaking accomplishment. There’s no office politics in EDF and everyone genuinely works for the common goal and was always happy to help me connect to other professionals, giving me career and life advice, and share some good stories and laughs with me. I was even introduced to the high-level team and joined their video conferences when they talked about the long-term blueprint for the program. I felt I was treasured as part of the team, even though my project was temporary and independent most of the time. 

Final Reflection — Summer at EDF Boston

China is the largest seafood consumer in the world, and China’s national supply can’t suffice its growing marked needs. In fact, China’s EEZ had been severely overfished in the past decades and the coastal governments are looking for ways to restore the stocks while importing more seafood from other countries to satisfy the market needs. The global seafood trade is very likely going to be affected by climate change and policy changes. My job this summer was to 1. Compile the seafood trade flow data between China and its global suppliers; 2. Analyzed the Climate Impact on the major species that China is importing. 3. Compile a case study of sustainable fishery management policy& practice globally for the Fujian Fishery Institute in China. 

What did you accomplish with your host organization? What was the impact of your work?

This summer I interned with the Environmental Defense Fund at Boston, Massachusetts. I worked under the China Ocean Program as an Asian Fishery Evaluation Intern. I worked on two independents projects: 1. Compiled trade flow data between China and its global suppliers and assessed the climate change impact on the major species. 2. Compiled case studies of sustainable fishery industries/organizations and management plans across the world and assessed the feasibility of each case under China’s cultural and legal background. The climate-fishery report is a Climate Road Map initiative that EDF and the Chinese Fishery Science Academy is launching collaboratively, and the overarching goal of this initiative is to prepare industries and policy maker to adapt to the so-called climate-ready fishery. I was very honored to be part of the team to contribute to this ground-breaking project involving multiple stakeholders and scholars from different countries. The climate roadmap is a very ambitious project and I could only a accomplish a literature review of related studies. However, my report served as a preliminary guideline for the future research focus and provided a general knowledge of what changes were expected in the ocean ecosystem.

Describe the benefits of this experience for you professionally and personally.

I had been dreaming to work for Environmental Defense Fund and EDF prove to me that it was an awesome organization that attracts truly passionate people. I was humbled by the knowledge that my co-workers had every day, and I felt so respected even as a temporary intern. There’s no office politics in EDF and everyone genuinely works for the common goal and was always happy to help me connect to other professionals, giving me career and life advice, and share some good stories and laughs with me. I was even introduced to the high-level team and joined their video conferences when they talked about the long-term blueprint for the program. I felt I was treasured as part of the team, even though my project was temporary and independent most of the time. 

Did your experience provide any unexpected discovery, self-reflection, or epiphany?

EDF has a very well-developed fishery knowledge Hub called the Fishery Solutions Center where EDF catalogs its global work related to ocean health and sustainable fishery. They also organized a virtual Fishery Academy where they provide training for sustainable fishery practices and data-limited fishery management. I spent a good amount of time browsing through the courses and I felt incredibly enlightened. My major takeaway was that a successful fishery management was never just about catching less fish. If we do not consider various social factors (eg. secured rights, local employment, communications, platforms for information sharing and behavioral science), it is very likely a management plan will fall part at the implementation stage. After talking with many practitioners in the sustainable fishery field, I found some common grounds in the practices—long-term secured fishing rights and co-management seems to be the most effective way to solve the “tragedy of the common” in the fishery case. A perfect solution is yet to be found, but the global fishery industry is finding its way towards sustainability.   

Building Resilient Fishery Globally with Environmental Defense Fund

This summer, I took a “great escape” from the California Coast to the Coast of New England. Boston has a different charm compared to California. This city is small but vibrant, yet full of culture and history. The EDF Boston office is located in historical downtown. In 1 mile radius, there are many historical sites that witnessed the establishment and development of United States as a nation, including the Boston Tea Party Ship, the Massachusetts State House, the Faneuil Hall (the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, Benjamin Franklin and James Otis, etc), the Bunker Hill Monument, and many others.  I fell in love with the city immediately after arrival.

The EDF Boston office (I don’t mean to hurt your neck but I can’t rotate the picture >_<) 
View from the office: the historical Boston downtown

On June 11, I started my work at the Environmental Defense Fund Boston Office. I work with the EDF China Ocean team on two independent projects:  1. Identifying the most important species in China’s seafood market and assessing the their climate change vulnerabilities. 2. Compile case studies of sustainable fishery management initiatives and evaluate their feasibilities under China’s legal and cultural background. The Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment I’m working on is part of a Climate Roadmap that EDF Ocean Program and Zhejiang Fishery Institute initiated this year, and it’s a pioneer project that will help China develop its policy framework for sustainable and climate-ready fishery. This is a very ambitious project, but I feel very motivated because I, as well as many people, believe that climate-ready fishery its the foundation of all sustainable fishing initiatives we are visioning for the coming years.

A typical morning at work: reading research papers and EDF periodical while sipping on my coffee.

The scope of EDF’s work really impressed me. While the EDF Ocean team is leading the sustainable fishery projects domestically, the Ocean program has also extended the network to Mexico, Spain, Cuba, Chile, China, Japan, Philippines and Indonesia, and EDF Ocean team works very closely with scientists, institutes and fishery communities across the globe.  We have bi-weekly video-conference with EDF Ocean staff and its regional partners, and together we discuss the steps we need to take and what each of us can do to contribute to the overarching goal. I learned so much about different practices in different projects world-wide, and I’m witnessing a growing network of sustainable fishery management teams. Apart from me, there are 3 other EDF staff in the Boston office that focus on China Fishery project. We discuss our work process frequently and share our insights with each other, and we sometimes go sailing after work.

Sailing on the Charles River with my colleagues after work

I’m very grateful to have the chance to work with the wonderful team. The working culture in EDF is absolutely supportive and fun. Everyone (including high-level directors ) is so approachable and people are always willing to take their time to help me with whatever questions I have. Working for such a prestigious NGO is such a privilege and I’m always learning something new from the conversations I have with the staff in EDF, the webinars and the video-conferences. I will definitely look for opportunities to come back after the summer.