Quantitative Fishery Ecologist Needed
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Integrated Statistics is looking for a Quantitative Fishery Ecologist to work in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).
The Quantitative Fishery Ecologist will work on an industry-science collaboration investigating climate impacts on New England ground fish distributions and possible consequences for applied fisheries science and management. The Quantitative Fishery Ecologist will assist with the collection, interpretation, and evaluation of Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge (FEK) and the development of products from it to improve fish population assessments and management. The position involves spending significant amounts of time working with principal investigators located in Cape May, New Jersey and/or Narragansett, Rhode Island.
Duties
The Quantitative Fishery Ecologist will:
- Participate in semi-structured interviews with fisherman to collect Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge (FEK) related to observed shifts in groundfish distributions and other factors that could affect population availability to trawl surveys in the Gulf of Maine, including explorations of possible mechanisms related to climate change. These activities will require travel to meetings with fishermen, requiring some overnight trips.
- Support scientists in summarizing FEK from semi-structured interviews of groundfish shifts and other factors likely to affect availability to trawl surveys. Assist in summarizing the range of hypotheses fishermen have about underlying mechanisms.
- Assist scientists in acquiring and analyzing fishery dependent and fishery independent data to validate FEK observations and hypotheses.
- Assist scientists in conducting two workshops with industry partners with the goal of summarizing FEK based descriptions of shifts in groundfish distribution and evaluating hypotheses including preliminary analyses.
- Following collaborative workshops, help to perform statistical evaluations of FEK observations and hypotheses. Help draft assessment working papers and scientific manuscripts.
- Assist in conducting a workshop with industry partners to design field evaluations of analyses and models with the goal of addressing availability issues in stock assessments. Assist in execution of field evaluations.
Qualifications
The successful candidate:
- Must have a strong background and formal training in ecological analysis and modeling.
- Must have demonstrated experience in applied ecology, fisheries science, and modeling, with special reference to species distribution modeling and marine habitat analyses.
- Must possess demonstrated competence in R programming and analyses, including interfacing with relational databases such as Oracle, and with OpenDAP servers.
- A strong interest and willingness to work respectfully and productively with fishermen and other fishing industry experts is required.
- Familiarity with the fisheries of the Northwest Atlantic is required.
- A Master’s or PhD in fisheries science, ecology, marine ecosystem science or related subjects is strongly preferred, as is a background in field research. However, a candidate with work experience in ecological analysis and a deep interest in collaborative research into the socio-ecology of fisheries systems may be considered.
- Must have excellent communication skills and a track record of productive collaboration/teamwork.
- Must be willing to travel to meet with fishermen in various ports in Southern New England and the Gulf of Maine.
The rate of pay is $26/hr, and the position is expected to last for 9-12 months. The position is eligible for the benefits described on the Integrated Statistics website.
Integrated Statistics is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate against any employee or applicant on the basis of age, color, disability, gender, national origin, race, religion, gender identity, sexual orientation, veteran status, or any classification protected by federal, state, or local law. Consistent with its obligations under federal law, Integrated Statistics is committed to taking affirmative action to employ and advance in employment qualified women, minorities, disabled individuals, special disabled veterans, veterans of the Vietnam era, and other eligible veterans. For assistance with accessibility of applications, posters, forms, and/or documents, please email the Integrated Statistics office.
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