BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — The Black Bass Conservation Committee of the Southern Division, American Fisheries Society is pleased to announce that the ninth annual Noreen Clough Memorial Scholarship for Females in Fisheries is being awarded to Jessica Robichaud from Carleton University in Ontario, Canada.
B.A.S.S. Conservation Director Gene Gilliland noted, “All seven of the young women who applied for the scholarship have a bright future in fisheries. They each exemplify what Noreen thought was so important in making a great fishery manager – a combination of scientist and avid angler.”
Jessica is a graduate student working towards a Ph.D. in fishery science. Her research focuses on the behavior of Permit, an iconic and highly prized sportfish in the Florida Keys and how the behavior of these fish during their spawning period has changed following the establishment of a Marine Protected Area. By analyzing movement patterns, her goal is to understand whether the MPA is effectively supporting the species’ long-term sustainability.
Jessica hopes to pursue a career in fisheries management and conservation “conducting applied research that informs policy, supports sustainable fisheries and helps protect the species and ecosystems that matter most to both biodiversity and the communities that depend on them.”
Noreen Clough blazed many trails in the field of fisheries. As the first female regional director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and later as the B.A.S.S. Conservation Director, her distinguished career was dedicated to the conservation and management of fish and wildlife. She put a high value on lessons learned from recreational fishing from both a resource understanding and appreciation perspective, but also from a perspective of understanding anglers and how they think and react to resource and social issues.
Soon after Clough passed away in 2015, friends and colleagues established a scholarship program for female students working toward a career in fisheries conservation. Judges for the scholarship program include Gordon Robertson, retired Vice President of Government Affairs for the American Sportfishing Association, and a long-time colleague of Noreen’s; Kim Bonvechio, Fishery Biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission; and Barb Elliott, New York B.A.S.S. Nation State Conservation Director.
The scholarship winner will be awarded a check for $2,000 and a framed certificate. A request for proposals for 2026 scholarships will be posted on Bassmaster.com and in American Fisheries Society newsletters next spring and circulated to college and universities across North America that have fisheries science programs.
