Sea Around Us: Research Associate

Academic

Job Category

Faculty Non Bargaining

Job Title

Sea Around Us: Research Associate

Department

Research 2 | Pauly | Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries | Faculty of Science (Maria Palomares)

Posting End Date

December 18, 2024

Note: Applications will be accepted until 11:59 PM on the Posting End Date.

Job End Date

Dec 31, 2025

The expected pay range for this position is $5833.33/month - $8333.33/month.

The Sea Around Us is a research initiative, which, since its inception in 1994, has made available an online searchable Atlas of reconstructed marine capture fisheries catches from 1950 to the present of all maritime countries of the world via its website at www.seaaroundus.org. This global catch database permits the testing of fisheries-related global hypotheses applied to marine conservation concerns and has served as the underlying database for many articles published by the Sea Around Us members and their collaborations in peer-reviewed journals.

In addition, the Sea Around Us embarked on the reconstructions of the world’s inland fisheries, with the recent publication of a first in a series of such reconstructions for Canada, the USA State of Minnesota, ten country members of the ASEAN and all countries in Africa.

Recently, the Sea Around Us obtained support from SWIRE Trusts for a project that will initially have a 12-month duration, with the potential for renewal for two more years. This project’s first objective is to update the catch reconstructions of the marine fisheries of China (including Hong Kong) to the most recent year (2022). This project includes the updates to 2022 or most recent year, the associated databases on price, end-use, fishing access and high seas catches. The marine fisheries statistics of China are widely considered to be problematic and require more attention than for other countries in the region. Here the project will collaborate with colleagues in China (Chinese Academy of Science, Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science, Xiamen University) to identify ways to improve these statistics such that they become more useful than at present, where about 80% of the marine fisheries catches are reported as ‘mixed fish’ groups and little to species level.

The second objective of the project is to reconstruct the inland fisheries of essentially all provinces of Mainland China. The result will be provided via our existing database and website, which will have to be adapted to providing data by provinces for China.

For this 12-month project, the Research Assistant will:

• Review the marine catch reconstructions for the 200-mile ‘Exclusive Economic Zone’ (i.e., the sea areas that the maritime countries can claim under the current Law of the Sea) of China and collate the best available information to update these reconstructions to the most recent year reported on by the FAO. This will be in collaboration with colleagues from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen University and the Chinese Academy of Fisheries Science, and other Chinese institutions. In Hong Kong, this will be in collaboration with SWIMS and others in consultation with Yvonne Sadovy who was instrumental in the first reconstruction work for Hong Kong (1950-2010).
• Gather best available data for the marine fisheries of Hong Kong and use this information to update and improve the coverage of their marine catches.
• Build a network of researchers in Chinese institutions, notably in order for the Sea Around Us to continue to host Asian graduate students (who have their own funding) in the Sea Around Us team with Daniel Pauly as their field supervisor to help them write papers towards their theses.
• Assure timely delivery of all project deliverables as defined in the Project Logic Model approved by the SWIRE Trusts.

The ideal candidate should have the following traits:

• Extensive experience in reconstructing and analyzing fisheries catch data.
• Skilled in collecting, processing and managing large fisheries-related datasets, including marine fisheries data and fisheries economic data.
• Strong background on marine conservation and fisheries-related knowledge, backed by a solid publication track record.
• Experience in applying quantitative and qualitative analyses of marine ecosystems, fisheries, and bio-economic dynamics; and extensive knowledge in biological and economics modelling;
• Proficient in spatial analysis, particularly for analyzing marine catch distributions.
• Experience in data management using software including Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL and MySQL etc.
• Competent in programming languages and tools used for data analysis (e.g., R, Python), facilitating complex data processing and visualization tasks.
• Demonstrated ability and experience to work and communicate with various top marine science and conservation institutions and scientists through different interdisciplinary collaborative projects.
• Organizational planning skills and proven ability to coordinate cross-institutional research projects and manage stakeholders effectively.
• Very strong written research, writing and analytical thinking skills; agreement and proposal writing skills.
• Positive working attitude and have the ability to work in team environment and independently under different circumstances.
• Passion in environmental conservation, climate change impacts, fisheries related issues, and socio-economic consequences under different global changes.
• Familiarity with principles of biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries, fisheries management, fisheries economics, vulnerability assessment, ecosystem services valuation and climate change impact assessment.

The ideal candidate should have the following traits:

• Extensive experience in reconstructing and analyzing fisheries catch data.
• Skilled in collecting, processing and managing large fisheries-related datasets, including marine fisheries data and fisheries economic data.
• Strong background on marine conservation and fisheries-related knowledge, backed by a solid publication track record.
• Experience in applying quantitative and qualitative analyses of marine ecosystems, fisheries, and bio-economic dynamics; and extensive knowledge in biological and economics modelling;
• Proficient in spatial analysis, particularly for analyzing marine catch distributions.
• Experience in data management using software including Microsoft SQL Server, PostgreSQL and MySQL etc.
• Competent in programming languages and tools used for data analysis (e.g., R, Python), facilitating complex data processing and visualization tasks.
• Demonstrated ability and experience to work and communicate with various top marine science and conservation institutions and scientists through different interdisciplinary collaborative projects.
• Organizational planning skills and proven ability to coordinate cross-institutional research projects and manage stakeholders effectively.
• Very strong written research, writing and analytical thinking skills; agreement and proposal writing skills.
• Positive working attitude and have the ability to work in team environment and independently under different circumstances.
• Passion in environmental conservation, climate change impacts, fisheries related issues, and socio-economic consequences under different global changes.
• Familiarity with principles of biodiversity conservation, sustainable fisheries, fisheries management, fisheries economics, vulnerability assessment, ecosystem services valuation and climate change impact assessment.

ORGANIZATIONAL STATUS

Reporting directly to the Project Manager, Dr Maria L.D. Palomares, and as required to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly, the Research Associate works independently under minimal supervision. The Research Associate oversees the execution of tasks as defined in the Project Logic Model. Liaises with local, national and international collaborators.

WORK PERFORMED

• Manages and operates the Sea Around Us SWIRE Project as defined in the Project Logic Model approved by the SWIRE Trusts.
• Plan, design, develop, and implement tasks as defined in the Project Logic Model.
• Supervise, train and instruct Quantitative Aquatics research assistants who will help with this project.
• Discuss and plan with the Project Manager and Principal Investigator, for instance, in the event that new features to the Sea Around Us databases are needed to allow for new analysis required that might lead to new publications and/or collaborations with Chinese colleagues.
• Monitor project progress, report to the SWIRE Trusts on project progress, and find solutions to issues that might arise in order to assure timely delivery of project deliverables.
• Assure the documentation of and the scientific publication of all project results.
• Performs other related duties as required by the Project Manager or Principal Investigator.

CONSEQUENCE OF ERROR

The Sea Around Us Research Associate will be required to exercise a considerable amount of judgment, responsibility and initiative in determining work procedures, and methods as well as coordinating the project’s work flow. Consequences of inappropriate actions could lead to the loss of valuable and irreplaceable research data, which affects Sea Around Us research grant deliverable timelines, and affect the ability of the Sea Around Us to renew the grant funding from the SWIRE Trusts. Errors in decision-making could negatively impact the reputation of the research lab, Program, Faculty and University.

SUPERVISION RECEIVED

Routine work is carried out independently after completion of training, lab orientation, and familiarization with project methods. The Research Associate reports directly to the Project Manager, Dr Maria Palomares and may defer to the Principal Investigator, Dr. Daniel Pauly for unusual occurrences.

SUPERVISION GIVEN

Provides training and supervision to a small group of collaborators hosted at the Quantitative Aquatics in related areas of expertise.

QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

• A minimum of a PhD degree in fisheries economics and climate change study or related fields.
• A minimum of 5 years of work experience as a postdoctoral fellow or research associate.
• A minimum of 2 years of work experience as Project Manager.
• Experience working across various sectors, including academia, government, and non-governmental organizations.
• Experience in catch reconstruction, climate change impact assessment on marine resources, and fisheries economics, ideally at both global and regional levels. Additional expertise in database management and spatial analysis is required.
• Experience in collaborating with academic partners across various regions, including China and other Asian countries
• Excellent written and spoken English. Working command of written and spoken Chinese would be required.