FISHING NET LANDS CONSERVATION PRIZE

Abstract

GROWING UP IN MICHIGAN, Norman Holy assumed the oceans were an inexhaustible resource. Holy now knows better—and is doing his own part to support marine conservation. This chemist recently netted an international award for his efforts to reduce the number of dolphins, porpoises, and whales unintentionally caught in fishing nets. More than 300,000 dolphins and porpoises as well as a dozen or so whales die this way each year, according to World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates. What's more, Holy did his award-winning chemistry in his free time. By day, Holy—a Ph.D. polymer chemist—works as a patent analyst for Bristol-Myers Squibb. At night and on weekends, he tinkers with the chemical properties of fishing nets, hoping to create nets that are safer for marine mammals. His hobby paid off last month when WWF honored Holy, along with his collaborators, commercial fisherman Don King and Canadian fisheries scientist Ed Trippel, for designing a chemically ...