Halley Froehlich began as a professor of Aquaculture and Fisheries at the University of Helsinki's Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences on 1 May 2026. Her field of research is aquaculture and fishery sciences.
Climate change and overfishing are threats to seafood
At the core, Professor Halley Froehlich studies how we can have our fish and eat them too, in a rapidly changing world.
"Wild and farmed aquatic foods are an essential, but often overlooked, part of our food system. They are complex and diverse social‑ecological systems with incredible potential, but also big challenges, including climate change, overfishing, and impacts to surrounding ecosystems," she says.
Her interdisciplinary research approach aims to answer applied and policy relevant questions concerning aquatic foods. Her scientific career began in applied organismal ecophysiology, that she centers in much of her research now, which she connects to population and climate modeling, as well as synthesis and social science efforts. In addition, she emphasizes the role of data quality and accessibility, which is a challenge in the aquaculture space.
"Many researchers and farmers who grow edible aquatic species want things to be done right, which inspires my work. I want to leave the world a little better than I found it. Being an interdisciplinary scientist also means I am very motivated by all forms of collaboration, locally and around the world, she says. I work with farmers and fishers, decision- and policymakers, and of course other scientists from diverse backgrounds," Froehlich explains.
Halley Froehlich has been recruited to the University of Helsinki through profile-building (Profi) funding from the Research Council of Finland.
This funding supports and accelerates the strategic profile-building of Finnish universities to enhance research quality.The latest allocation funds the recruitment of researchers from abroad.
"We were thrilled to be able to attract a scientist of Halley's caliber to the University. She is an internationally renowned highly-cited scientist, and her expertise on sustainable fisheries and aquaculture fits perfectly into our Faculty's research profile and the University top research areas. It strengthens our research profile in ecophysiology and ecology as well as fisheries and aquaculture, and she will also make an important contribution to inspiring the next generations of fisheries and aquaculture experts via teaching and supervision," says Dean Craig Primmer from The Faculty of Biological and Environmental Sciences.
A lifelong learner
Professor Froehlich describes herself as a lifelong learner. Working in a new country and new ecosystems, and with new collaborators, feels exciting and challenging.
"Before moving to Helsinki, my research program was built at UC Santa Barbara and grounded in the North American marine context. My work has spanned global aquaculture sustainability, climate change impacts on wild and farmed seafood systems, projecting the future of aquaculture feed, farmed seaweed carbon mitigation potential, conservation aquaculture, and the governance and data landscapes of U.S. marine fisheries and aquaculture. Much of my research is synthesis-driven and quantitative, integrating large datasets, ecological modeling, and spatial analyses to address broad food-system and environmental policy questions. For instance, my most recent publication, Exploring the scales and drivers of blue transitions of marine wild-capture fisheries to mariculture in California, U.S.A., just accepted in Environmental Research: Food Systems, exemplifies that kind of work. Over the last five or so years, however, after the pandemic, I returned to my ecophysiological roots and began testing climate-extreme questions in the lab - not on fish or invertebrates, but on farmed seaweeds, motivated by my initial interests in seaweeds that began as a postdoc at NCEAS."
In Finland, both the ecophysiological and global research dimensions will remain, but a fundamental shift in species focus and national scale will define what's new: she is moving from a U.S. orientation toward place-based European and Nordic questions, including small-scale aquaculture climate vulnerability, feed autonomy and resilience in the region, and expanding her experimental and mechanistic research on European farmed macroalgae under climate change threats and opportunities.
"I am genuinely excited about the policy relevance this work will carry. Here fisheries and aquaculture are deeply embedded in Finnish and broader Nordic identity, culture, and food security in ways that simply don't parallel the U.S. context in most areas, and I look forward to learning these systems more deeply and collaborating with new groups in the space, including the Merikotka Core Research Network and HELCOM, while strengthening existing networks, like The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES)," she says.
A mother all the time, but especially in her free time
"While I am a scientist, I am also a mom, and honestly that fact shapes a lot of what I'm most excited about when I think about life in Finland. My partner and I are looking forward to raising our daughter in a place that genuinely values children and families in ways that are built into the culture and institutions. The deep connection to nature here is something I want her to grow up with: learning to flyfish (obviously), ski, spending time on the islands, and of course visiting Lapland and Joulupukki. While I spent most of my life in California, I actually grew up in the state of New Mexico with the outdoors as a constant backdrop, and it shaped who I am, so the idea that she'll have forests, coastlines, and proper seasons feels like a real gift. Of course, coming from the California sun, the dark winters are intimidating. That said, I'm also approaching it as something to lean into rather than just endure. I suspect a good book or two and lots of cozy candles will help my mood," Professor Froehlich describes her freetime.
Halley Froehlich earned her B.Sc. in Animal Biology from the University of California, Davis and her Ph.D. in Marine Ecology & Fishery Sciences from the University of Washington, in the United States. There she took an interdisciplinary approach studying the impacts of anthropogenic stressors, such as hypoxia (i.e., low oxygen), on exploited marine ecosystems and species. As a Postdoctoral Scholar at the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis (NCEAS), she studied the potential of sustainable open-ocean aquaculture. Before venturing to Helsinki, Dr. Froehlich started as an assistant, then eventual associate professor in the Interdepartmental Graduate Program in Marine Science (IGPMS) at the University of California Santa Barbara, where she established and expanded her research program on the interactions and impacts of aquaculture, fisheries, and climate change. Professor Froehlich is also a highly-cited scientist.
Open whole box
