By David Rainer
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
When I reflect on my 30-plus years of covering the outdoors in Alabama, I think of many people who have influenced and contributed to my writing. No one on that list is more famous than Dr. Bob Shipp, who died last week at the age of 81.
“It’s going to take some getting used to not being able to pick up the phone to ask Bob or send him a fish to meet,” said Dr. Sean Powers, Director of the Stokes School of Marine and Environmental Sciences at the University of South Alabama (USA). “Rarely a day goes by without someone coming up to me and asking about Dr. Bob and relaying a story of the impact of a class they took from him, his role as a mentor, a conversations they have. with him about the fish or other awards. His impact on students, colleagues and the community is truly inspiring.”
Like Powers, I always looked up to Dr. Bob as my source of information to simplify complex fisheries management issues in Alabama and Gulf of Mexico waters, both during my time as Outdoors Editor at the Mobile Press-Register newspaper and currently as outdoors writer at the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR).
Shipp is originally from New Orleans and received a Ph.D. in biology from Florida State University before joining the Department of Biology at South Alabama in 1972. He spent 40 years in the USA and received Professor Emeritus status immediately after his retirement in 2013 as chair of the Department of Marine Sciences, which he helped found . Shipp also served 27 years on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, five years on the Alabama Conservation Advisory Board and taught at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, where he was part of many research projects.
“Bob built the Marine Sciences program from the ground up,” Powers said. “Obviously he had help from a lot of great people, but Bob built Marine Sciences at South Alabama. For a very long time, South Alabama was known for its medical school and Marine Sciences. I can still say that the two prominent features we have. Everyone knows. Those all trace back to Bob’s vision to focus on marine sciences in 1992. He convinced then President (Fred) Whiddon that we should have a Ph.D program .
“That paid huge dividends. We moved from a department to a school of marine and environmental sciences. A lot of that is the legacy I inherited from Bob.”
Powers said Shipp’s contributions were on the USA side, and his contributions to fisheries science and management were just as impactful. He said ADCNR Commissioner Chris Blankenship summed it up best.
“Dr. Shipp is focused on fisheries science and how that science can best be used for fisheries management,” said Commissioner Blankenship, who also served as Director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division during Shipp’s tenure. “His nearly three decades of service on the Gulf Council are legendary. His common-sense approach to complex management issues set the standard we use today to manage our marine fisheries resources.”
Powers added, “Bob would meet with federal scientists, and they’d throw all these complicated models at you. Bob could say, ‘Well, this doesn’t make sense. I don’t care what the math says. I don’t have don’t care what the models say, it just doesn’t make sense.’ That transitioned into management actions. They would suggest these crazy management actions. Bob, again, would say, ‘That makes no sense. Why would you take such a complicated route when you can do something simpler? ‘”
USA President Jo Bonner said Shipp has the ability to explain complex questions in a way that everyone can understand.
“Dr. Bob literally wrote the book in introducing the importance of marine and environmental science to the people fortunate enough to call the Gulf Coast their home,” said President Bonner, who has represented Alabama in the US House of Representatives since 2003. -2013. “He was highly respected as a scholarly man who could explain his work to members of Congress, the media and the general public in a way that made everyone feel like he was talking to them, not lecture them.
“He also commanded universal respect from his students and colleagues, as well as scientists and peers across the country and around the world. He certainly put the University of South Alabama on the map in the important field of “This is a student.”
Powers said Shipp’s extensive research on Alabama’s iconic fish species, the red snapper, continues to contribute to the health of Alabama’s coastal snapper population and the nation’s largest artificial reef system.
“There were some things with red snapper in particular that Bob thought of before anyone else,” Powers said. “He’s been telling the feds for a long time that the red snapper stock assessments are wrong, that there’s a lot of big red snapper deep that haven’t been sampled. It’s something we call cryptic biomass. They took Bob off the hook and said it was a fairy tale. Fast forward 20 years with $10 million and the Great Red Snapper Count and guess what? The reason we have more red snapper is because of the mysterious biomass in deep water. They are never sampled and never targeted by fisherman. That means we have this incredible buffer in the population.
“I tried to harp on it, but I don’t think Bob gets enough credit for that. Bob has all these anecdotal reports from fishermen, and his contention that stocks are regenerate quickly is absolutely correct. That’s just one example of how Bob used a lot of observation and a lot of talking to the fishermen. None of the scientists actually talked to the fishermen. Now, this is a second nature. We all do now. As the models have become more complex, Bob’s message has always been to keep it simple because if anglers don’t understand it, they won’t buy into the regulations. I don’t think that’s yet message obtained by the National Marine Fisheries Service. To expect fishermen to comply, you have to be able to give them simple explanations.”
Shipp also served as head judge of the Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo (ADSFR) on Dauphin Island for more than 35 years. Powers, who assumed the role of chief rodeo judge after Shipp’s retirement, said Dr. Bob the rodeo anglers and the Roy Martin Young Anglers Tournament is something to behold.
“Bob’s other legacy is that he really enjoyed talking to fishermen,” Powers said. “That’s the best thing about the rodeo, seeing Bob interact with the fishermen. People even want to get their kids’ picture taken with Bob. That might be the first fish the kid catches, and to get a picture with Dr. Bob made it even more special. Bob never turned down a request. He always took his time. And not only would he identify a fish, sometimes he would tell you the whole history of life of the species. It just shows his knowledge and really unique personality.
“The other thing about Bob is that he has no ego, no anything, no matter what I’ve seen. It’s not about Bob. He’s got all these awards, and he’s shared everything with the university. People don’t understand how rare it is, especially in academia.”
Powers said every photo Shipp took at the ADSFR or the young anglers tournament was the same.
“He was always smiling and always enjoying himself,” she said. “Just like rodeo did for the university, Bob brought a level of recognition to rodeo and his idea of ​​partnership with science. That’s also Bob’s legacy. He brought people (scientists and researchers) to rodeo from around the world We have specimens from the rodeo in the London Natural History Museum and the Smithsonian Natural History Museum.That’s all Bob introduced people to the opportunity to sample rodeo fish species.
“What’s really important for us as rodeo scientists is that we don’t get out on the water long enough to sample these really big specimens of different types of fish. Bob connected that to the rodeo.”
Powers said Shipp’s knowledge of Gulf of Mexico fish is fascinating, especially of species rarely seen in a fishing tournament.
“Even at this past year’s rodeo, we had three fish that we had to send to Bob for identification just to be sure,” he said. “We can ID most everything but sometimes we have to look through our books. Bob just looked at it. All these graduate students would try to find a fish ID that Bob got wrong. Nope. He never got it wrong.”
Shipp even wrote “Dr. Bob Shipp’s Guide to the Fishes of the Gulf of Mexico” to help people identify the many species of fish in the Gulf. Powers said the book was not written with the scientific community in mind; it is written for use by anglers and the general public. CCA Alabama (www.ccaalabama.org/) has some of Shipp’s books available.
“It’s really written for anglers,” Powers said. “This is the must-have book for fishermen to identify a fish. It also has recipes and all kinds of information. Bob wrote it for fishermen to learn more about fish. And unlike a scientific guide, people sit down and read Bob’s guide as a book.”
Although Shipp was recognized for his pioneering work with red snapper, he was unique in other species that inhabit the Alabama surf.
“Bob loved to sit in his lawn chair and fish for his pompano,” Powers said. “On snapper research trips, Bob rarely took a pole offshore. He wanted everyone to experience it, but I think he loved his pompano fishing.”
Dr. Bob has received many tributes since his death, including one from Alabama Marine Resources Director Scott Bannon.
“I had the privilege of working with Dr. Shipp – he preferred to be called Bob – on the Gulf Council and as a member of the Saltwater State Record Fish Committee,” Bannon said. “I have always appreciated his humble and direct guidance. He is a blessing to the State of Alabama and the Gulf Coast.”
Powers agreed, “Bob is a tremendous person and deserves all the recognition he can get.”
