Kim McKown
Southern New England American Lobster Fishery Oral History Project
This project collects oral histories from lobstermen and resource managers in Connecticut and New York.
Kim McKown works (now retired) for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, where she is the leader of the Marine Invertebrates and Protected Resources Unit. She has decades of experience with the NYDEC, and in 2003, shortly after the Long Island Sound lobster die-off, Kim was tasked with overseeing lobster management for the department. For five years she conducted lobster surveys in Western Long Island Sound, as well as worked alongside the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to assess changes in lobster populations. Her findings helped inform management strategies that are in place to this day. Kim has ample experience engaging with local stakeholders and the fishermen and women of Long Island Sound to develop and implement management plans. Kim’s management work has resulted in rebounding striped bass and Atlantic sturgeon populations, and she continues to contribute to the health and prosperity of New York’s waters.
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