Volunteer Sea Watch Jobs (NOW HIRING)

*Position is Subject to Contract Award

*Onsite Position at SEFSC Laboratory or at Sea in Pascagoula, MS or Panama City, FL

Position Overview

Learn Gulf & Caribbean Reef Fish (GCRF) at-sea duties and perform as a Survey Watch Stander for reef fish surveys conducted on NOAA Ships and Small Research Vessels, and participate in other PEMD resource surveys as requested. Requires work aboard NOAA Ships and/or small research vessels for fisheries and water quality sampling, and the ability to troubleshoot issues with limited resources while at sea.

Key Responsibilities

Task #1 - Survey Duties

At-sea duties focus on video camera and CTD deployments, habitat mapping, and other environmental data collection, including but not limited to:

• Survey watch stander.
• Pre-survey and post-survey inventory of equipment and gear.
• Preparing and loading survey gear, supplies, and equipment.
• Cleaning and maintenance of equipment.
• Learning to conduct data collection and biological/environmental sampling, and logging and processing data and/or samples under field conditions per prescribed SOP.
• Unloading gear/equipment, cleaning and storing equipment, and logging and storing data upon completion of each survey.

Task #2 - Laboratory Duties

Primary duties revolve around annotation of video for habitat and species detection and enumeration, using a semi-automated multi-stage process (1. automated processing in Google Cloud Platform using VIAME software, 2. human-in-the-loop review and correction, 3. data review and QA/QC, 4. data output/ingest into GCRF Oracle databases, and updating GitHub for project management), including but not limited to:

• Learning annotation SOPs for GFISHER and PRDW video data.
• Identifying marine fishes in all life stages from diverse habitats of the Gulf of America and adjacent seas.
• Updating annotation tracking sheets.
• Communicating with reviewers and the survey coordinator on annotations.

Task #3 - Data Management Support

• Data entry, QA/QC, and validation.
• Learning the use of AI/ML software and managing outputs to post-process data (near-future duty).
• Identifying marine fishes in all life stages from diverse Gulf of America habitats.
• Data entry or upload into GCRF Oracle databases; QA/QC of data entry and fixes as necessary.
• Updating annotation tracking sheets and GitHub project management tools.

Task #4 - Outreach & Education

• Participate in public outreach and education efforts, e.g., marine science education at local schools, judging science fairs, conducting SEFSC/NOAA ship tours (with federal employees), and staffing outreach booths at fairs and festivals.

Qualifications (Required)

• BS degree in Marine Science or a related field (volunteer experience valued).
• Computer literate and experienced with common word processing, database, statistical, and graphics programs; capable of writing reports at the college level.
• Proficient in the use of fish, invertebrate, and protected species identification books and keys; knowledge and identification of reef taxa from the Gulf of America.
• Knowledge of endangered or threatened species.
• Sea-going contractors on OMAO NOAA ships must submit a NOAA Health Services Questionnaire (Form 57-10-01) and Tuberculosis Screening Form (NF 57-10-02) annually/biennially, and must have a current tetanus vaccine (within 10 years).