Tim Essington is the director of the UW School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, and a biologist who studies marine food webs and the effects that humans have on them. His research focus spans many areas — climate change, ocean acidification, and fisheries — to better understand how these change marine life. His recent research focus looks at fisheries policy tools, and the conservation benefits they may provide. Of particular interest is the application of ecosystem approaches to fisheries management, especially as applied to fisheries targeting small forage fish. These species play important roles in food webs, but are also the target of growing fisheries. Essington is looking for ways to measure the trade-offs between the vital ecosystem services those fish provide and their increasing commercial value. For this work, he was awarded a Pew Fellowship in Marine Conservation.