For a number of reasons, I decided (both intentionally and unintentionally) to wait until over a week into 2015 to do a “year in review” post.  Part of this is because I wanted to make sure I didn’t miss anything up to New Year’s Eve.  Part of this has to do with the holidays and just not having time to sit down and put a post together.  And part of this is because there are some really cool things coming up early in the new year that I didn’t have details on until very recently.  Let’s get to it, shall we?

2014 in Review

All in all, 2014 wasn’t a bad year, though it saw my lowest level of activity (and resulting traffic) on this blog since it began.  I published 15 blog posts here in 2014, and a whopping 4 over at Southern Fried Science.  So 2015 will have to see some increased output from me.  On the other hand, I was much more active on Twitter, where 2014 saw me crack 1,000 followers, which by some metrics makes me “influential.”  I’ll try not to let the power go to my head.

I was a lot more productive in other writing venues in 2014.  I managed to get some journal publications out, with a full research article, a short observation note, and was co-author on a review article with an amazing title.  I’ve also been doing some writing for North Carolina Sea Grant’s Coastwatch Magazine, covering cool marine and coastal research from the Old North State.  So far I’ve covered my own shark tagging, wrote up a handy guide to North Carolina’s sharks (excerpts of which were included in NC Sea Grant’s Shark Week coverage), and reported on striped bass otolith research in the Albemarle Sound.

Among all this writing, I found time to get out into the world.  Aside from my usual research and conference trips, I participated in SciREN Coast, an awesome networking event that teams researchers and educators up to teach North Carolina students about science happening in their own state.  I also ended up on TV as a reporter from WNCT rode along on a shark survey trip.  Just a few more steps toward my goal to be everywhere when it comes to North Carolina sharks.

2015 in Anticipation

2015 is already shaping up to be busy, productive, and hopefully shark-filled year.  Late in 2014 I officially joined the SciREN Coast team, so I’ll not only be manning a booth at the event but also helping with planning and setup.  I’m excited to be working with some great people and hope to contribute to SciREN getting better and better.  If you’re an educator interested in getting some North Carolina marine science into your classroom and have the evening of February 12th free, make sure to sign up (and stop by my booth to talk sharks).

Before then, I’ll be hopping on a big boat with the Cooperative Winter Tagging Cruise.  This trawl survey got me a lot of my data back when I was doing my Master’s Degree work, so I’m happy to be aboard.  My goal this time is to get some more spiny dogfish gut content samples to boost some results from my MS work, and also to deploy more acoustic tags on any coastal sharks they happen to run into.  This will be my first trip on a large research vessel since the time I was on the R/V Henry Bigelow (start here and keep reading for a recap of that trip).  I’ve been told there will be internet access onboard, so hopefully I’ll be able to fit in some updates from the sea.

After that, I’ll be back on the traditional conference beat at the American Fisheries Society Southern Division meeting.  I’ll probably be talking about something involving sharks and North Carolina.

Beyond the winter, I’m hoping to get summer shark sampling rolling again, get some more stuff published, go to more conferences, and have more stuff to post here and over at Southern Fried Science.  Happy belated New Year, all.