A Career Anchored in Science
Chris Anderson is no stranger to the open ocean. His journey with NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center began 15 years ago as a North Pacific fisheries observer, providing fisheries-dependent data from commercial catches. Today, he is a fishery biologist conducting research for NOAA’s fisheries-independent bottom trawl surveys in Alaska. His experience collecting both fisheries-dependent and independent data gives him a comprehensive understanding of data needed for stock assessments and sustainable fisheries management.
NOAA’s summer bottom trawl surveys cover the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska, and Aleutian Islands, and the data collected during these surveys are crucial for understanding fish populations and overall ecosystem health. Research teams aim to complete four to six hauls per day, working long shifts to take advantage of Alaska’s long daylight hours. Each haul uses a bottom trawl net to sample for 30 or 15 minutes, depending on the survey. Once the net is retrieved, the catch is sorted on a table, weighed by species, and size and sex composition data is obtained. Some fish are further sampled to assess food habits through stomach collection and age through otolith analysis, which are fish ear stones that show annual growth like rings in a tree.
Completing these surveys requires strong team collaboration, leadership, and know-how, especially from the several science-based crew members on the vessel. Anderson is often the Deck Lead and tasked with overseeing deck operations and biological data collection. “I'm responsible for the deck collections and deciding how the catch is handled once it comes up on the deck.” Anderson explains, “I'm getting a lot of the equipment that we're using ready to record data, whether it's overall catch composition, the length, or any specific sample.”
As part of this role, Anderson ensures data are recorded accurately in on-deck data collection tablets and in Oracle databases. Tablets allow researchers to efficiently log species catch and specimen data and Oracle databases allow them to streamline data collection and management. These platforms help check data collection in real time, reducing errors and improving data accuracy.
Training for Tough Conditions
While emergencies at sea are unlikely, being ready for anything is essential for working in challenging conditions like the North Pacific. “If for some reason there was an emergency, and we ended up in the water,” Anderson notes, “There's a lot of things that we can do to ensure our own survival.” Anderson co-leads rigorous cold-water survival training to ensure that every team member is prepared. During this training, survey goers don survival suits for a real-life early-spring jump into Lake Washington
Adapting to Life at Sea
As you may expect, life aboard a research vessel in Alaska is far from ordinary. Spending months at sea requires problem solving, adaptability, and resourcefulness. “I think the biggest challenge is just the remote nature of the work. In Seattle, if something breaks, it's really easy to just run down to the hardware store or big electronics store and buy what you need. But when you're hundreds of miles away from the nearest port, you have to make do with what you got.”
Even simple, everyday tasks can be challenging: “Like standing in the shower, trying to wash your hair, and all of a sudden a wave comes and you're just bouncing off the sides of the shower,” Anderson shares with a laugh.
Small comforts make a big difference for keeping morale up during long days at sea. For Anderson, that comfort comes in the form of a beloved snack. “I bring a box of Goldfish. And at the end of the day, just a handful of Goldfish is a really nice way to end it.”
Life at sea is not for everyone, but for those who embrace it, it offers a unique and fulfilling experience. As Anderson reflects, “Sometimes it’s just stopping and taking a minute to remember where we are at and how unique it is to be in this location and to just experience what we are doing out there.” Whether watching seabirds circling the vessel or witnessing marine life in their natural habitat, these moments serve as a powerful reminder of how incredible the environment and how important the work are.
Returning to Shore
For many, the sea and the vessel become a second home. When the voyage is over, stepping back onto land can come with ‘mixed’ feelings. Even a weathered researcher like Anderson gets ‘land sick.’ “After spending three months at sea,” Anderson recalls becoming used to “the constant rocking back and forth. When I got off the boat for the first time onto solid ground, I naturally wanted to keep rocking. So I was kind of making myself land sick—very similar to sea sick but just from the act of standing on solid ground again.”
As the surveys wrap up and the team transitions from deck work in Alaska to desk work and data analysis, Anderson and his colleagues carry forward the vital responsibility of transforming months of rigorous fieldwork into actionable science.
All of the data sources collected, such as catch, specimen, haul performance, and environmental data, need to be brought together. Diligent and meticulous quality control checks “make sure that the results that we get are up to our high standards and are useful for anyone who's using that data.”
Code, databases, presentations, and reports await the team and they look forward to sharing their work with managers and the public alike. This science directly informs sustainable fisheries policies, supports ecosystem resilience, and helps ensure that future generations inherit healthy, thriving oceans.
