Work Spotlight: Fisheries Technician

Fisheries? FISHERIES. The word may evoke images of boring schools of fish that you don’t personally care to know more about. This was me, pre-fisheries technician job. Don’t worry, I will keep this short. To apply for any job one of the prerequisites I have would be a personal vested interest in some aspect of it. I love coffee, hence my barista job. I love coral reefs, hence my coral nursery assistant job. As for fisheries? Do I love canned tuna?? Heckyeah I do! But more importantly, I love fresh tuna sashimi or sushi, I love eating fried reef fish, I absolutely love the taste of the fresh marlin kelaguen at the Guam Fishermen’s Cooperative Association (GFCA, or co-op for short). Don’t you?

All the aforementioned fish have species that are on the brink of being overfished. It’s a hurtful sad world out there for these fish. And the worst part about it is that as much as I know this, I can’t even stop myself from buying into it. I am a consumer and I am also the creator of this demand, partially–a tiny drop in the huge pool of fish consumers. My father is a strong believer in fishing just for your family (sustainable harvesting), and instilled this value in me as well. Knowing all of this motivated me to put on a strong face and apply for the job, go through the interview, the background check, etc and when I found out I got it I was giddy with glee but also apprehension because my knowledge of fisheries was mediocre at best (compared to the best). Going back to the overfishing, what I do is basically gather data about fisheries that are important to Guam. These data go back through the years to form a baseline to give us an understanding of how quickly downhill we’re going in terms of fishing out the big ones. It’s an ugly truth–like a lurking credit score of less than 600–and yet we’re taking loans out every day, against the future of our fisheries and the future generations of people.

Because of the nature of the work we do, I cannot disclose much about what I do personally except to say what has been published and is open for the public to see. Although the last report was published in 2014, it is still the most updated and relevant source of information on fisheries in this region. I will say that the work I do is very fulfilling, and is giving me a renewed perspective on an old dream of mine (ichthyology) and making me wonder what more I can contribute, and how much more time I am willing to invest in this particular area of marine science. In truth, it’s a very viable grad school option. I am definitely considering it, though I have much to learn.

Practical skills acquired:

  • identify common and commercially valuable food fish to species level whenever possible
  • work with a team
  • conduct census surveys of fish landings
  • extract fish gonads and otoliths
 
—UPDATE—
 
My job as a fisheries technician as part of the PIFSC team was by and far the best and most rewarding job I have ever had to lucky fortune to come across–a big statement, considering all the jobs I have had. My coworkers, supervisor/program manager, and all the subsidiary agencies and people I met involved with fisheries were some of the most passionate workers and advocates I could learn from and meet. I thought I had fire before this job, but they renewed it threefold. The only thing that could have come between me and this job was–of course–my schooling, which takes priority and forced me to leave Guam and the job I loved for the bigger picture. I have to constantly remind myself of this. The only better job I can get would be the one I set out to do after graduate school. Although I felt like I could stay in my position on Guam for many more happy years (I really could have, it was that good), I know that there are things that need my attention that I have to get done, in order to do any good and ultimately benefit my home and my island of Saipan, and Guam. I know for a fact that I will run into and hopefully work with the team and people I met while working for PIFSC again and again–after all Guam and Saipan are not so far from each other–and it is only coincidence that I happened to have my fisheries passion renewed RIGHT BEFORE I had to leave Guam. After many happy months there, I also added a few more practical skills. 
 
  • Create and maintain new and existing market contacts 
  •  Help with derby weighing station duties 
  • Sort and organize gonad/otolith inventory
  • Characterize species-specific otolith metrics
  • Maintain a good relationship with the local fishing community 
That last one may throw you off a bit but in working for PIFSC I learned that if you do not have a good relationship with people, they will not listen or aid your research. Sounds like common sense, but in truth it was probably one of the more important aspects of my job which at this point I will credit my “barista” conversation skills, and perhaps my sunny outlook on life? 
 
In any case, I will continue to update myself on the goings-on in the fisheries community in the Marianas because I am invested so much. With the Okeanos expedition as well as the launch of a new village dock in Yigo sometime in the near(ish) future, it is an exciting time to be a part of it! 
 
 

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Work Spotlight: Coral Nursery Assistant

Hi everyone! So I am extremely happy to announce that I’ll be working part time (while waiting to take classes next semester anyway) as a coral nursery assistant for the UOG Marine Laboratory. I know I mentioned in a previous post that I was unable to work as a research assistant–let alone apply as one–for UOG unless I had gotten a Guam driver’s license but I found a little way around this in Nevada this summer. Because I did not want to wait two years for full licensure in Guam (yes, that’s the law and roughly how long the process takes from start to finish) I went along and got a state driver’s license while I was out there visiting this summer with my family. Ha! Take that Guam. I still think it’s ridiculous that they don’t just allow a transfer between CNMI and Guam driver’s licenses, but I digress. Back to my new job. I mean, it’s just one day a week when the weather’s nice to go out and clean some baby corals, maybe take some measurements, etc. but it’s definitely something I’d happily do over my regular job (not that I don’t love waking up at 6 am on a Saturday to serve coffee to people, mind you). I am anxiously waiting to see when my dive physical is scheduled. Because I’ve had a dive physical before I am not new to all the poking and prodding (and peeing) I will have to do beforehand to assure everyone that I’m dive-ready and able to perform the job duties, but the anticipation is nearly killing me. Will post an update on how my first day goes when it comes. I just want to dive again..

In addition to this job, I’m keeping my fingers crossed on another part-time job that’s geared more towards fisheries. Pray for me!

—UPDATE—

I have been in this job for a few months now and I am comfortable with the work I do. As a nursery assistant, one could say I’m more of a coral janitor/babysitter, but I know that what I am doing is going to a great cause. If the work I do can contribute to bettering Guam’s understanding of corals and their resistance to things like disease and bleaching events, sign me up. I hear this year’s bleaching is slated for July so I am not looking forward to that. Although my buddy and I have run into small mishaps with basic care for the corals (like getting them to remain in the nursery and not be easily knocked off their allotted areas) I am becoming more efficient with the process. Corals of the world, BRING IT ON.

Practical skills acquired:

  • maintain and care for Acropora (staghorn) coral species in an ocean nursery
  • working with a buddy
 
—UPDATE— 
 
Although I learned from the months I was working with the Acropora babies, unfortunately my 6-month contract did not get renewed in a timely manner and I was unable to continue, as it was conflicting with my job as a fisheries technician (also a contract job). I gleaned what I could from my short stint, and hope that one day I could use this information to make informed decisions on how to properly propogate coral species.