BOONE—Sustainable development has long been a focus of Appalachian State University student R. C. “Robby” Thigpen III.

Thigpen has helped build bridges and drill wells in the deserts of West Pokot, Kenya, to give people access to food and clean water. In 2001, he arranged for the purchase of fruit trees and assisted in replanting an orchard for an orphanage in Kampala, Uganda. He also started a sheep project in Kilgoris, Kenya, that enables women in the village to generate a source of livelihood.

Locally, Thigpen supports activities in Watauga County by providing CPR training to residents through the local Red Cross chapter. Sonny Sweet, director of the Watauga chapter of the American Red Cross, says “Robby is a unique person whose interests literally span the globe. Here in Watauga, he has been very active in the community locally as well as at the university. Robby has taught many health and safety classes and added his spice of life to many students.”

Thigpen’s most recent focus has been in Caye Caulker, Belize, where he has traveled several times over the past few years to study lobsters, and humankind’s impact on the lobster fishery there.

Thigpen has presented his research findings and their potential effects on the sustainability of the spiny lobster fishery at regional and international conferences, including the Belize National Marine Science Symposium.

He also has given a presentation at a teachers’ seminar held by the Hugh Parkey Foundation for Marine Awareness and Education to help develop the new “Marine Science for Students Workbook” for Belizean school children. He is consulting with them on the design of a marine wet lab for their new research facility on Spanish Bay, Belize.

Thigpen, an applied anthropology major, will graduate with a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and a minor in biology in December.

In 2005, Thigpen received an internship from the Northern Fisherman’s Cooperative Society (NFCS) to study the lobstering practices in Belize. Large-scale lobster fisheries arose in Belize in the 1920s, following introduction of the lobster trap and its modification for use in catching spiny lobsters. The oldest fishing cooperative in Belize, NFCS was founded by Tony Vega and the fishermen of Caye Caulker in 1960.

Thigpen first began his research by interviewing Vega and the surviving founders of NFCS. The fishermen were invaluable in increasing Thigpen’s historical knowledge of the cooperative and of the fishery.

The lobster is an important source of income for residents of Belize’s coast. It accounted for approximately $12.9 million in Belize dollars (4.65 million U.S.) in 2001. But a fisherman’s individual production has declined over the years, due to an increase in the number of licensed fisherman, disruption from hurricanes and other factors.

After observing the co-op’s quality checks, Thigpen found NFCS only accepts the highest quality lobsters. But he also noticed that the spiny lobsters gained weight after they were caught. Upon further investigation, he discovered that as fishermen soaked the lobster tails preparing them for sale (a necessary part of the process), the tails naturally increased in weight by approximately 9 percent.

As a result, some pre-reproductive age lobsters may be accidentally harvested. In addition, the tails lost the water weight before they were re-sold, thus causing the co-op to have less product by weight for resale than it actually purchased.

He has been asked to present his findings at the Simposio Nacional De Pesca held in Honduras in next June. This will be his first presentation in Spanish.

“This is certainly a rare case where a small but promising student project has taken on a life of its own, and has attracted the interest of both Belizean government officials and recognized marine scientists alike,” said biology professor Shea Tuberty.

“Robby’s cross-disciplinary education in both biology and anthropology made him uniquely qualified to develop this (lobster research) project that will not only benefit the fishermen, but will indeed benefit all persons who use the waters of Belize,” Tuberty said.

Thigpen is quick to credit the assistance he has received from faculty mentors at Appalachian in the development of his research projects.

He has worked closely with Susan Keefe, Tom Whyte, Larry Kimball and Greg Reck from the Department of Anthropology and with Richard Henson, Tuberty and Robert Creed from the Department of Biology, and John Abbott, a research librarian with Appalachian’s Carol G. Belk Library and Information Commons.

“Having my own international research project as an undergraduate has been an invaluable learning experience,” Thigpen states. “However, I would not be suited for this type of research without my training in anthropology and biology. They are the perfect blend of disciplines to deal with resource management issues and sustainability practices of today,” he said.

“Scientists obviously contribute to our understanding of the biology of commercially harvested species. Still, scientists must be aware of the culture of the people with whom they work and their perspectives and needs regarding these fisheries if we are to be successful in contributing to fishing management policies,” Thigpen added.

Research funding and travel grants from the university as well as other sources have been critical to his work.

Thigpen says much research needs to be done in the northern waters of Belize to understand the connectivity of the four marine ecosystems there. He believes having this overall picture will be very important to fishery managers and all stakeholders who use the waters associated with the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System.

As Thigpen continues his research, he believes the conclusions will allow him to make suggestions to the fishing cooperatives that will curtail future economic loss to the cooperatives and the fishermen, as well as to help sustain the fishery.

Thigpen’s ongoing work “is going to be helpful to both fishery managers and stakeholders who want to pursue future aquaculture projects in these two species to understand the food web and predator/prey relationships,” said Bobby Usher, executive director of NFCS.

In the course of his project, Thigpen has kindled an interest in marine biology and sustainability among the daughters of the family with whom he stayed while in Belize. The girls helped him with his work and gained an appreciation for finding ways to improve the lobster and fishing industry. As a result, one has been offered an opportunity to attend a university in the United States, after she finishes secondary school. Another daughter will assist a marine scientist working with manatees at Spanish Bay next summer.

Thigpen says the assistance and encouragement he has received from the fishermen in Belize, and the use of the NFCS research facility on the caye has been an important part of his success, particularly that of Usher, and fishermen Terry Reyes, Francis Staine, Leopoldo Heredia and Nardo. Of the relationship, Polo says “You are not like the other guys that come here. You work with us. You eat with us. You are our friend.”

The project also has enabled Thigpen to network with professionals with experience in his areas of interest, including, Tom King, who carried out his dissertation field research at Caye Caulker, Terry Richardson of the University of Northern Alabama, Caryn Self-Sullivan of Sirenian International and author of the Marine Science for Students Workbook, James Azueta and Ramon Caracamo of Belize Fisheries and Francis Staine of the NFCS lobster research facility.

King has researched the effect of economic prosperity on the community and cooperative, as well as how the resulting growth in cooperative membership along with how changing membership composition may be affecting the cooperative’s resilience.

“Robby blends a unique set of skills and personal qualities that suits him well for the creative research he has designed,” he said. “Blending his experience and training in biology with a grounded ethnographic understanding of fishing as a complex mix of traditional livelihood and business enterprise, Robby is able to appeal to and communicate with a wide audience,” King said. “The respect he has among both academic professionals and the fishing communities of Belize is evidence of a rare gift to bridge cultural gaps that will most certainly result in the advancement of knowledge and, with all hope, the continued prosperity of the fishing communities that have accepted him and which he has come to serve.”

Thigpen currently is conducting a stable isotope analysis of the seagrass meadows of the western Caribbean. Some areas of the seagrass meadows are protected areas for manatees, but they also are a juvenile habitat for many other species.

His preliminary results will be presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries Institute in November. His talk, titled “Non-lethal Methodology for Stable Isotope Analysis of Marine Invertebrates,” is a cooperative effort with Robert Creed from Appalachian’s Department of Biology.

After graduation, Thigpen hopes to attend graduate school and plans to continue his research on spiny lobster ecology and crustacean behavior. He also wants to produce an educational/documentary film on the Caribbean fishery that will showcase the lobster fishermen and the harvesting techniques of all Belizean fishermen.

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Photo Two: Caye Caulker fisherman Terry Reyes holds an example of his day’s catch.Photo Three: Alyssa Majil, left, Robby Thigpen and Celeste Castillo return to Belize City following a presentation Thigpen made at the Hugh Parkey Foundation Facility on Spanish Bay on the Marine Science for Students Workbook for Belizean school children.