Dr. Barbara Block is one of the preeminent pelagic fish researchers in the world. Born in Massachusetts in 1958, Barb was introduced to oceans at an early age by her parents. Barb’s exposure to seascapes on Cape Cod, fishing excursions with her dad, and cold Berkshire winters sparked her fascination with nature, leading to a remarkable career in marine science.
Barb pursued biology at the University of Vermont, and a Sea Semester class aboard the Tall Ship Westward sparked her love of ocean science. Barb met Dr. Francis Carey during the class, who introduced her to the adventures of studying tunas, billfish and sharks. A summer internship with Carey led to more in-depth investigations of warm bodied fish and her first paper on porbeagle sharks. As Frank’s technician at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1980, Barb experienced many trips to sea learning the science of acoustic tracking of swordfish, tunas and sharks.
Barb pursued her Ph.D at Duke University with the world renowned physiologist Dr. Knut Schmidt Nielsen. She discovered how billfish use unique biochemical pathways to warm their brains and eyes, helping them forage in cooler depths and twilight seas. Barb sampled fish at the Big Rock Blue Marlin tournament in North Carolina for her thesis research and went on to the Hawaiian International Billfish Tournament (HIBT) in 1982 where Peter Fithian was integrating sportfishing with billfish research and conservation. Barb worked with the Pacific Ocean Research Foundation (PORF) for over a decade, collaborating with anglers to acoustic tag billfish and tunas which led to deploying the first towed satellite tags, as well as the first pop up satellite tags in 1997 that were sponsored by HIBT, PORF and IGFA Trustee Stuart Campbell.
Barbara took her first faculty position as an assistant Professor with the University of Chicago in 1989. There her team used physiology, ecology and genetics to further understand billfish and tunas. While there, she built an acoustic speedometer tag, which demonstrated how fast marlin swim.
Block moved to Stanford University in 1994, and together with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, built the first facility in North America for studying and exhibiting captive tunas. She also built a scientific lab that enabled researchers to improve our understanding of the physiology of tunas. Barb’s team working with engineers, developed some of the first implantable archival tags in 1995. Veterinarian Dr. Tom Williams and Barb, along with aquarist Chuck Farwell, pioneered techniques to surgically implant the tags into tunas. These archival tags recorded light, pressure, temperature, and time, providing information about location and behavior of tunas in the wild for over five years. This research led to the establishment of the TAG A Giant program, which has deployed 3,000 tags around the world on tunas aided by Barb’s students and technicians such as Rob Schallert and Dr. Andre Boustany. Returned tags have come back from fishers in 25 nations, providing 250,000 days of tracking data that has improved our capacity to manage tuna populations.
Barbara was Co-Chief Scientist from 2000-2012 of the Tagging of Pacific Pelagics research program – one of the field projects of the global Census of Marine Life. Her team led the deployments of 4,500 tags on tunas, sharks, seabirds, turtles and other marine predators across the Pacific Ocean. This work helped uncover the White Shark Café - a unique region of the Pacific Ocean that California white sharks visited annually. In 2018 she led a large expedition funded by the Schmidt Ocean Institute to investigate the Café to learn why white sharks gather in these waters.
In 2009, Barbara’s team returned to the HIBT, and with IGFA Trustees Peter Fithian and Bob Kurz, founded the Great Marlin Race. This tagging program partnered with the IGFA in 2011, becoming the largest billfish citizen science satellite tagging effort with over 450 billfish tagged in 21 countries around the globe.
Barb and her team have published over 225 papers and two books, and co-produced four award-winning documentaries viewed by millions. Block has been recognized for her outstanding contributions in research and conservation with numerous awards including an NSF Young Investigator Award, a MacArthur “genius” award, A Rolex Award for Enterprise, the Benchley Ocean Science Award and the Pew Marine Conservation Award. She has nurtured the next generation of ocean leaders at Stanford by teaching and mentoring many postdoctoral, graduate and undergraduate students.
For her incredible contributions that have advanced our knowledge of pelagic fishes and her work with recreational anglers, the IGFA welcomes Dr. Barbara Block to the IGFA Fishing Hall of Fame.
