Martha and Scott Hatch

Martha and Scott Hatch have worked together on many field trips to remote islands, coauthored important papers in seabird biology, run one of the longest seabird monitoring programs in the Pacific, mentored countless early career seabird biologists, and currently administer the Institute for Seabird Research & Conservation, a non-profit they created post-retirement. Scott worked for the USGS as a Research Wildlife Biologist studying Alaskan seabirds for 37 years. He has dedicated his life to the study of Pacific seabirds, especially fulmars, kittiwakes and auks, and has published nearly 150 scientific papers on the topic. Martha, likewise, made significant contributions to seabird research on the Semidis and Middleton Island and co-authored a number of key papers. Martha retired in 2012 from her post as an associate professor at the University of Alaska Anchorage. Based on six field seasons on the Semidis, the Hatches provided the basic natural history for an entire suite of species, including all three Pacific puffins. They established a unique research site at Middleton Island featuring a former radar tower refitted to have 600 one-way windows, with cormorants or kittiwakes breeding behind each window. Over the years, more than 100 early career researchers have studied seabirds at Middleton, including many that have gone on to become well-known seabird researchers. Several thousand murres, kittiwakes, and cormorants bred on Middleton Island owe their existence to the Hatches.

In recognition of their mentorship and lifelong efforts to use seabirds to understand ecosystem change, especially at the Semidi Islands and Middleton Island, the Pacific Seabird Group honors Scott and Martha Hatch with a Lifetime Achievement Award.