Scientist - Whale and Sea Turtle Fisheries Interaction Modeling

Ocean Associates, Inc. (OAI) is seeking a Scientist to provide support to the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) Marine Mammal And Turtle Division (MMTD). OAI supplies personnel support services on contract to government and industry clients for marine fisheries and protected species.

BACKGROUND

NMFS has engaged in collaborative efforts to address whale entanglements along the U.S. West Coast. These efforts have included 1) active participation in a multi-stakeholder Dungeness Crab Whale Entanglement Working Group (WG) to identify approaches for reducing whale entanglements in partnership with CA State, the fishing community, and NGOs, and 2) a collaborative “Research Roadmap’ to conduct research in support of whale entanglement risk reduction. Considerable progress has been made on the initial steps of the Research Roadmap. During 2017 the WG used initial results to develop a draft framework for evaluating whale entanglement risk throughout the fishing season (based on ocean conditions and prey availability) and identifying potential within-season mitigation measures. Current research efforts are focused on the development of fine-scale models of whale distribution and density in both spring and fall, collecting model validation data, and analyzing fishing effort data. Building on these efforts, SWFSC proposes to fast- track a risk assessment to identify effective management actions to reduce whale entanglement risk by adding time from a skilled analyst to work with existing Research Roadmap scientists. NMFS has also been involved with development of models that characterize the potential interaction between endangered leatherback sea turtles and fisheries gear. So far these efforts have focused on leatherbacks along the central California Coast. However, leatherback turtles also interact with Hawaii- based long-line efforts targeting tuna and swordfish. Adopting approaches used in the whale entanglement analyses, SWFSC proposes to model the spatial and temporal overlap between leatherback turtles and Hawaii-based fisheries efforts. To this extent, a portion of time from a skilled analyst will be used to analyze already-existing data on leatherback turtles and fisheries in the high seas of the North Pacific. 

DUTIES

The Individual shall provide the following services:

• Create maps of U.S. West Coast fishing effort.
  
• Combine maps of Hawaii-based fishing effort with leatherback turtle movement maps.
• Combine maps of U.S. West Coast fishing effort with predicted whale distributions.
• Evaluate how different management actions affect whale entanglement risk.
• Contribute to writing a manuscript describing the risk assessment.
  
• Participate in fieldwork on an as needed basis to support for field operations for marine mammal and turtle research.
• Convert the analyses conducted in the risk assessment (base period) to an R Shiny Application that allows users to explore how management actions change risk.  

Other Duties Include:

• Maps of fishing effort. 
  
• Maps that quantify the overlap between fishing and leatherback distributions.
• Maps that quantify the overlap between fishing and whale distributions. Maps of changes in overlap due to management actions and metrics for the changes in overlap.
• Submit Sections of the manuscript.
• Submit report detailing field work activities.
• Submit R shiny application and documentation.  

Travel is anticipated 

Average estimated hours per week are 30 to 40. 

Start Date: December 16, 2018 

Location: La Jolla, CA 

Salaryand Benefits: Commensurate with experience. Comprehensive benefits package. 

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE AND EXPERIENCE

Selected individual(s) must have the following minimum qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree, or higher, from an accredited college or university with a major directly related in a field of study as related to the requirements of specific task order with emphasis in fisheries, oceanography, social science, natural science, mathematics, or hydrology. 

Additional required qualifications include:

• Experience working with species distribution models.
• Ability to write code in R to:
  
• Calculate model evaluation metrics, such as AUC, TSS, and RMSE.
  
• In port, map and manipulate spatial data (particularly using the sf package for faster processing of spatial data) including clip to area, erase land, and project data.
  
• Overlay multiple maps onto a single base grid and calculate areas of similarity and differences.
  
• Ability to create R Shiny Applications.
• Ability to contribute to writing scientific manuscripts.
• Experience conducting marine mammal field research.  

Additional preferred qualifications include: 

• ArcGIS 
  

If you are interested in being considered for this position, please APPLY THROUGH OUR ADP WEB PORTAL, AT THE LINK AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE

Only qualified applicants that meet minimum experience or background requirements stated above need apply. When applying for this position you will be asked to upload your resume at the end of this online application.

Applicants should submit a resume that includes the following:

• Cover letter that briefly describes how you meet the required and preferred qualifications listed.
  
• Work history for past 10 years or since last full-time education.
  
• Education.
  
• Previous experience or training with similar requirements.
• Three professional references.
• Include your name in the document file name.
• Upload your resume in readable, not scanned, PDF or Word format (PDF is preferred).   

In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States, complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire, and successfully complete a federal government background check.  Ocean Associates Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal or state law. 

OAI is a government contractor and is required by law to invite applicants to self-identify their race, gender, national origin, disability status and veteran status. OAI is required to use the information it collects as part of its future affirmative action efforts in hiring. The information is collected anonymously by computer and is not connected to your application. You will see a place to check certain boxes in OAI's online application. Even though the information is anonymous, self-identification is voluntary. You can always check the box that says you decline to self-identify. 

Note:  If you are not selected, your materials may be retained for present or future opportunities. We may use your resume in bidding on a project and if we are awarded the work we will contact you before seeking further applicants. If you do not wish us to retain or use your resume to seek work for you, please let us know in the "Notes" section on the second page of the online application.