Paloma Henriques

Paloma received her Master of Science in Marine Policy and Graduate Certificate in Interdisciplinary Climate Studies at the University of Maine. She was part of the J. Stoll Lab for Applied Socio-Ecological Research in Fisheries and Ocean Governance, the Climate Change Institute, and an editor for Spire, the Maine Journal of Conservation and Sustainability. For her research, Paloma studied sustainability certifications and small-scale fisheries. The goal of her research is to create an alternative to existing certifications that serves the needs and capacities of small-scale fishing communities. Taking a participatory approach by collaborating with Community Supported Fisheries in the Local Catch Network, a community-of-practice of small-scale fishermen, organizers, researchers, and consumers in North America, she hopes to incentivize continual improvement in environmental, social and economic sustainability that will lead to positive policy changes.

Before coming to the University of Maine, Paloma was an environmental activist with Greenpeace for ten years. She worked in Los Angeles, California as a face-to-face fundraising director and community organizer and abroad as a member of the ship’s crew. Paloma has volunteered with many different environmental organizations, from The Sierra Club to Extinction Rebellion. She is a sailor, diver and swimmer and loves being in and around the sea. She has travelled extensively throughout the Atlantic Ocean, sailing with her partner through Europe, West Africa, and South America. Along the way, she met many small-scale fishermen and witnessed the impact of industrial fishing, pollution and climate change on these communities. Through campaigning with Greenpeace and her personal travels, Paloma was inspired to understand more deeply the roots of environmental crises and how they intertwine with issues of equity and justice.