When you come to a fork in the road – take it!

Abstract

Abstract The title of this “Food for Thought” article comes from a quote variously attributed, but mostly to the baseball player-philosopher Yogi Berra. I suppose the intent of the quote to be at once both funny and philosophical. We are all confronted with hard professional choices during our careers. Which fork in the road to take is ultimately determined by balancing our current situations (their positive and negative attributes) with an uncertain possibility to achieve more rewarding career and personal goals down a different path. I have been fortunate to have not one but three distinct careers in marine science—as a fishery stock assessment scientist, an agency senior science administrator, and as an academic. All of the choices I have made (both opportunities accepted and those declined) have presented professional challenges to get out of my comfort zone and take advantage of tremendous opportunities to learn new things and to grow professionally and personally. Over the course of my career, I have witnessed fisheries management and science maturing into an enormous enterprise so critical to the sustainability of our oceans. We have discovered much about the limits of human exploitation and the intricacies of how marine ecosystems respond to the human hand. Attitudes have matured regarding the process of fisheries management and the critical roles that fishers, regulators, scientists, and non-governmental organizations play in balancing ecology and economy. The most important lessons I have learned are those for working effectively in groups (active listening, authenticity vs. authority of leadership, openness) and understanding that successful teamwork requires establishing a stimulating and energetic environment for creative thinking and doing.