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Meet Joseph (Joey) Bennington-Castro, Science Writer

June 16, 2021 โ€” The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What are your key responsibilities?

I am the senior science writer at the NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office. As a science writer, I share stories about our conservation and management activities in as many formats as I am able. This runs the gamut from: a short article about the birth of a new monk seal to a Q&A about one of our partners to a feature story about a project we funded to help revitalize ancient Hawaiian loko iสปa (fishponds) to a StoryMap about a new type of coral nursery. I work with the rest of our wonderful communications team to develop and edit outreach products, and I help manage our Twitter and Facebook accounts. I am also a photographer and videographer. I have produced videos about the fishing culture of American Samoa, a project that uses sea urchins to clean up invasive algae, and the stranding of a young melon-headed whale, among others.

Where did you grow up?

I grew up in Waiสปanae, an underserved community on Oสปahu, Hawaiสปi.

What is your educational background?

I attended the University of Hawaiสปi at Mฤnoa to study physics and astronomy in hopes of one day specializing in extrasolar planets. Upon earning my B.S. in physics and completing a couple of astronomy research projects, I realized that the life of a scientist (or at least that of an astronomer) wasnโ€™t for me. What I really enjoyed was sharing and talking with people about scienceโ€”this passion, along with my longtime love of writing, led me to the field of science journalism. I earned a certificate in professional writing from UHM, followed by an M.A. in journalism and an advanced certificate in science, health, and environmental reporting from New York University.

Is there a book, quote, or person that influenced you to be the person that you are today?

While growing up, I had strong female role models who shaped who I am today, particularly my mother and my eldest sister. They have both always been hard-working women who showed me through their words and actions how true strength comes from compassion, kindness, and generosity. I have also always taken to heart the Golden Rule: Treat others the way you want to be treated. I try to keep these ideals in mind not only during my interactions with other people, but also in the way I treat this planetโ€”without which none of us would be here. I am far from perfect, and I fail more often than I like to admit. But I am grateful that I am able to look to these role models and find the motivation and inspiration to keep growing as a person.

Read the full release here

Joel Moribe, Endangered Species Biologist

May 26, 2021 โ€” The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What do you do at NOAA Fisheries?

I am an endangered species biologist for the Pacific Islands Regional Office, based out of Oโ€˜ahu, Hawaiโ€˜i. I do Section 7 consultations, natural resource program coordination, acoustics, effects analysis, effect minimization, and species protection.

Would you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I have more than 20 years of experience as a marine scientist, Endangered Species Act expert, and effects and project analyst. Before coming to the Pacific Islands Region, I spent 14 years in the Pacific Northwest conducting project analysis for the protection of salmon and killer whales. I also spent 3 years with the Navy as an endangered species project manager. And I actually do some fieldwork โ€ฆ sometimes!

What are a few words that describe you?

Hawaiโ€˜i born and raised, turtle lover, monk seal lover, coral lover and rescuer, entanglement and debris hater, scuba diver, free diver, University of Southern California Trojan, corgi lover, poi eater.

Why did you get into this field?

Iโ€™ve been fishing on Oโ€˜ahu since I was a very young child. Over the years I had noticed that fish were more difficult to catch, and conditions of the habitat were worsening. I routinely witnessed people violate laws, even within my own family. I knew I had to do something, or we would lose everything.

Read the full release at NOAA Fisheries

At Sea, Merely Observing Can Be Risky Business

October 20, 2015 โ€” It was a month into the voyage from Spain to the Ross Sea in Antartica that the captain of the fishing boat threatened to throw Liz Mitchell overboard.

In the frigid waters of the Southern Ocean, off the Falkland Islands, that would have meant certain death.

But all that Mitchell, a U.S. fisheries observer, could think of was how embarrassed she was. The captain had just screamed at her in front of his officers, because she witnessed his crew transferring fishing bait to another vessel in mid-sea.

โ€œWhen that guy said that to me I was shaking, but only because I was humiliated,โ€ Mitchell said. โ€œAt the time I didnโ€™t take him seriously, that he could actually do that. I donโ€™t know whether it was naivetรฉ or just plain being stupid, but I just never believed anybody would do that to me.โ€

Fisheries observers face the same treacherous conditions as commercial fishermen: the risk of getting a hand caught in a winch, being knocked overboard by a rogue wave, of dying in a capsized vessel. But observers face special risks of their own โ€” from those they watch.

It was part of Mitchellโ€™s job to record and report conduct such as the bait transfer โ€” a possible flag for an unregistered boat fishing illegally. She had been hired on to monitor the vesselโ€™s movements as well as track commercial fish and protected species it caught or killed along the way.

Not long before, Mitchell had been told by a crew member that the ship she was on โ€” a U.S.-flagged longliner โ€” had ties to a notorious Spanish fish poacher. That made the threat of being thrown into the sea all the more salient.

Threats and intimidation are an unfortunate part of the job, said Mitchell, who is president of the Association for Professional Observers, a nonprofit that advocates for better living conditions and improved safety measures. She got her start as a fisheries observer in Alaska in 1983, and did stints all over the world, including in Hawaii. She now lives in Oregon.

Read the full story at Civil Beat

 

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