Lessons from a career in fisheries science‡

Abstract

Abstract This article summarizes some of my accomplishments during a 45-year career in fisheries science that ranged from conducting fish stock assessments, working for an international marine science organization, and managing a variety of scientific projects and activities, to finally serving as a scientific editor. In doing so, I have tried to focus on lessons learned. Starting my working life as a high-school math teacher, I soon opted for a different career, returned to the university, and received a PhD in fisheries biology. The first 15 years of my career were at the Woods Hole Laboratory of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) doing fish stock assessments, where my main interest was Atlantic mackerel (Scomber scombrus). Until the USA declared a 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in early 1977, the focal point of my work was the International Commission for the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries (ICNAF). Lasting friendships with scientists from other countries developed during the ICNAF meetings and continued for years thereafter, some to the present day. During 1977–1985, my assessment activities were confined to domestic fisheries and interactions with regional fishery management councils, where I found that a cooperative attitude and the use of non-technical language made a positive impression and helped build trust. Involvement in ICES assessment working groups led, in 1985, to being appointed Statistician in the ICES Secretariat in Copenhagen and the start of an 8-year life in the international community that culminated in becoming General Secretary. Some major changes in ICES in which I was intimately involved are discussed. After my return to the USA in 1994, my career included managing a variety of activities and projects in Woods Hole and at NOAA/NMFS headquarters in Silver Spring, MD (where I was NMFS liaison to the National Sea Grant Office), finally concluding, after my retirement from NMFS in 2004, with continued engagement in fisheries science as an editor for ICES. Having benefited from experiences in science and administration and the lessons learned therein, it is a pleasure, via this article, to offer advice to young scientists contemplating potential paths to pursue in their careers.