Musick honored for lifetime opus
Jack Musick, of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of
William and Mary, has been awarded the Commonwealth's Lifetime
Achievement in Science award for his work on the ecology and
conservation of marine fishes and sea turtles. The award was announced
by Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and Science Museum of Virginia Director
Richard Conti.
Musick, Emeritus and former Marshall Acuff Professor of Marine Science
at VIMS, has earned an international reputation during a 40-year career
in which he has authored or co-authored 150 research articles and
advised 89 graduate students, the latter likely a record for marine
science graduate education in the U.S. His annual field trip to study
Virginia's freshwater fishes-the Roanoke Round-up-has become a favorite
tradition of VIMS graduate students.
Musick has also written or edited 12 books. Three of these-Biology of
Sharks and Their Relatives, The Biology of Sea Turtles, and Fishes of
Chesapeake Bay-are considered classics in their field.
"Jack's achievements are the envy of his peers," says VIMS Dean and
Director John Wells. "His research underlies conservation and
management efforts for sharks and sea turtles worldwide, and his
accomplishments in education are extraordinary. By personal example and
direct training he teaches graduate students how to do science of the
highest caliber. Jack is a scholar who produces scholars."
Musick's graduate students include John McEachran (PhD '73), now
Professor of Ichthyology at Texas A&M Univ.; Kenneth Able (PhD
'74), Distinguished Professor of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers
Univ.; Molly Lutcavage (MS '81) Director of the Large Pelagics Research
Center at the Univ. of New Hampshire; Roy Crabtree (PhD '84) Head of
the National Marine Fisheries Service's Southeast Region; Robert
Middleton (PhD '89), Director of the White House Task Force on Energy
Project Streamlining; and Louis Daniel (PhD '95), Director of the North
Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries.
Musick arrived at VIMS in 1969 after earning a PhD in Biology from
Harvard. In 1973, he established a program to monitor shark populations
in the mid-Atlantic. The VIMS shark-monitoring program is now the
longest-running fishery-independent study of shark populations in the
world. His shark research has brought global attention to significant
declines in shark populations due to overfishing, and led to the first
U.S. management plan for sharks, in 1993. Musick also helped establish
VIMS as one of four members of the National Shark Research Consortium.
As a founding member and past president of the International Sea Turtle
Society, Musick has been instrumental in efforts to conserve the
world's seven sea turtle species, all of which are either threatened or
endangered. His sea turtle research, which pioneered the use of
satellite tracking to establish migration patterns and wintering areas,
shows that Chesapeake Bay is one of the most important nursery areas
for Loggerhead and Kemp's Ridley sea turtles.
Musick's studies of coastal fish have contributed to management plans
for summer flounder, Atlantic sturgeon, and black sea bass. He also
established a fish collection at VIMS that now features the world's
largest assemblage of Chesapeake Bay and mid-Atlantic fish, with
128,000 specimens in 247 families.
In announcing the awards, Governor Kaine said "These select people are
at the top of their fields. This year's Outstanding Scientists and
Industrialists have expertise in cancer research, marine science,
atmospheric and planetary sciences, pharmaceutical company investments
and real estate transaction services. Their creativity, contributions
and dedication make life better for us all."
An on-line version of this story with additional background and interactive links is available on the VIMS Web site at http://www.vims.edu/newsandevents/topstories/index.php.
