I have found that most people feel like COVID has affected their sense of time. This has been especially true for me — the last two years have been marked by beginning graduate school, getting married, a global pandemic, and having a child. The last two years have gone by in a blur. As I write this, some of the students that I began school with are completing their master’s degrees while I am returning from a six-month parental leave of absence after the birth of my first child. I am hoping that this blog post resonates with some folks who do not feel like the “traditional” student, that by speaking more openly about my journey I may be taking a step towards helping myself and/or others find a sense of community and understanding.

Despite everything (decades of education, scholarships, internships, global travel, field work) I still find myself constantly questioning my validity as a scholar, as a contributing member of the scientific community, or even as a Sea Grant Scholar. When the time comes to “perform” and I need to complete an application for funding or write a blog post my instinct is to say to myself that “I haven’t done anything,” that I am unworthy. I know many of my peers feel similarly, where does this seemingly never-ending doubt come from and how do we conquer it?  I try to remind myself that thoughts aren’t necessarily facts (in my case, thoughts are frequently not facts), sometimes thoughts are just thoughts. Looking back upon my previous blog posts and reflecting upon this last year as a Sea Grant Scholar, the truth begins to come forward and become clearer… So, what is true?

• Fall 2019: I began my journey as a master’s student in Fisheries Science at Oregon State University two years ago this fall. In fact, I got married on the second day of classes!
• March 2020: A global pandemic has worked its way around the world multiple times over in the past 1.5 years. Which means I was on campus for only six months before everything changed.
• I formed a collaboration with ODFW Marine Reserves Program and California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP) to sample during their hook-and-line surveys in the fall of 2021.
• December 2020: As mentioned in my previous post, I formally drafted a plan for my research project and successfully defended my research review and formed my committee last winter.
• I got pregnant!
• I started working on part II of my project. Began conversing with ODFW regarding access to Oregon Recreational Boat Sampling (ORBS) program data as well as data collected as part of ODFW’s Sport Groundfish Onboard Sampling (SGOS) program.
• March 2021: I then organized a session for a professional conference, which is a first for me. My lab mate, Claire Rosemond, and I brought together a theme and list of speakers for a symposium at this year’s Oregon Chapter of the American Fisheries Society.
• April 2021: ODFW cancelled their hook-and-line surveys originally scheduled for fall of 2021. ☹ Good thing I secured a collaboration with CCFRP to sample in September! 😊
• May 2021: It may be a small win, but it felt big to me! I won best graduate student poster at our locally sponsored conference RAFWE.

• I found that most people I knew (fellow graduate students, advisors, faculty, student union, etc.) did not have any familiarity with the parental leave policy at my university, let alone how to guide a graduate student through the process. Identifying the steps and personnel to communicate with felt a little like reinventing the wheel. Eventually I not only completed the process but also chronicled it and created an informational document (doc attached below for anyone who may benefit) that hopefully helps other students in the future. This process took weeks and continued beyond the birth of my child.
• June 2021: I left for parental leave and had a baby!

• September 2021: Realized that trying to leave for field work 8 weeks after having a child was simply not possible (at least for me). Canceled my field work with CCFRP.
• I signed back up with ODFW for their 2022 hook and line surveys.
• December 2021: Return from six months on parental leave

I am currently a second year Master’s student studying Fisheries Science under Dr. Scott Heppell at Oregon State University. When it comes to my research project, I have not started collecting or analyzing data yet (a global pandemic did get a bit in the way in that regard). However, I have put together a research proposal and successfully completed my “research review” (which is a formal meeting that confirms the organization of your thesis committee and allows for everyone to review and sign off on your proposal) in December, which certainly has helped me to feel more accomplished and like progress is being made!

The idea behind the project…

Fisheries monitoring is an important aspect of fisheries management, used to assess populations and determine sustainable harvest. In the commercial fishery there are several means of collecting this data (fish tickets, at-sea fishery observers, electronic logbooks, and various electronic monitoring technologies). In Oregon, however, there is currently only one way that we collect data on the recreational fishery, port samplers. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) conducts dockside interviews, counting landed catch (all fish caught) and interviewing anglers regarding discards (released fish) via the Ocean Recreational Boat Survey (ORBS). Of the recreational charter fishery alone, ORBS samples an impressive 30%. Yet, compared to the commercial fishery, there remains a significant lack of monitoring data.

Which is why I am proposing an alternative form of electronic monitoring of the recreational fishery on the Oregon Coast. In collaboration with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) and the California Collaborative Fisheries Research Program (CCFRP), my master’s project will test a stereo-video system onboard recreational charter vessels. Utilizing photogrammetry (the science of obtaining reliable measurements using photos and/or videos), I will identify and quantify recreational catch data off the Oregon coast and compare it to sampling data collected by state port samplers via standard sampling techniques. Both the ODFW Marine Reserves team and CCFRP conduct several hook-and-line surveys every year (targeting groundfish). These surveys are conducted both inside and outside of marine reserves and all fish caught are brought on board, identified, measured, and recorded by ODFW or CCFRP trained volunteers.

I will simultaneously collect stereo-video data on as many surveys as I can tag-along on in 2021. Which means I can then compare the length measurements I collect via stereo-video to the length measurements collected by hand during these surveys. Additionally, this is a unique opportunity to collect previously unobtainable data of the bycatch typically discarded on recreational charter boats. With this sampling design, I can make various comparisons that would shed light on whether electronic monitoring could be appropriate in recreational fisheries. Additionally, I will compare current reported data (collected via port samplers) to my own, with the ability to assess the accuracy of current reporting techniques and propose a cost effective, low maintenance alternative.

Given the current pandemic and potential for other disease outbreaks, I can imagine that in this new world of social distancing, an alternative form of port sampling may be necessary in the future. The stereo-video technology utilized in my project could be integrated into kiosks located at filet stations in all major Oregon ports. Thereby allowing the continued collection of recreational catch data without placing ODFW port samplers in danger or managing large absences in data.

The second half of my research project, entails investigating further into the uncertainty associated with bycatch data in the recreational fishery. Retained catch can be measured directly at the dock, but accurate monitoring of bycatch requires (1) anglers accurately identify released species and (2) remember what they released. Due to event recall biases and variability in species ID skills, this can introduce a high degree of uncertainty in recreational fisheries data. The main source of bycatch data for the recreational fishery in Oregon are in-person interviews conducted by port samplers. To supplement this, three at-sea observers sample a portion of the sport charter vessels for species composition, discard rates and sizes, location, depth, and catch per angler as part of ODFW’s Sport Groundfish Onboard Sampling Program (SGOSP). My objective is to determine whether current average bycatch values are accurately represented in port sampler collected interviews. To assess this uncertainty, we will compare data currently being collected by ODFW via ORBS port samplers to data collected by at-sea observers via SGOSP. By comparing these data, I will determine if bycatch recall values reported by recreational charter boat captains are in line with the same data documented by at-sea fisheries observers.

That’s the plan anyway. As the sun starts to peak out from the clouds more frequently, plans begin to form and pressure begins to build for my upcoming field season. I have a few updates I would like to share soon, so stay posted!