Marine Science Career Profiles

Charles Fort is a herring biologist at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' Pacific Biological Station (PBS) in Nanaimo, BC. Mr. Fort is also the diving officer at PBS and coordinates the annual herring spawn dive surveys held each spring. OceanLink spoke with Mr. Fort on the porch outside his office at PBS.

Could you give me a bit of background about your job here at the Station?

I'm a herring research biologist, and I guess most of my time is taken up collecting data and carrying on research into herring spawns. The main tool we use is the herring spawn survey, where we have groups of SCUBA divers go out and actually measure the length, width, and intensity of spawns.

What portion of your job is spent in the field vs. the office?

It breaks down to about 2 months of the year is actually field work, where I'm running around the coast keeping track of these surveys. And the rest of the time is pretty much in the office, with the occasional trip out on the juvenile herring surveys.

Did you always want to be a fisheries research biologist?

No, actually my degree is in zoology. My major interest when I was in university was diving physiology, so I spent a lot of time being interested in marine mammals.

A lot of people have wanted to get into marine sciences since they were a kid. Is it the same thing with you?

Yes, it is. I grew up on Lasqueti Island, and so the sea and fishing were part of my daily existence. As soon as I was old enough to figure out what the research vessel G.B. Reid was and what they did, that's what I wanted to do.

Where did you attend university?

I went to the University of British Columbia (UBC) for my zoology degree. I also spent some time at the University of Victoria (U Vic), but that was education and anthropology as a diversion.

What was your first job in marine science?

Actually there weren't too many until I started working here. Most of my previous work experience was in forestry and the education field.

How did you manage to end up here?

Well, I wasn't sure I was ever actually going to get a job in marine sciences, so that's why I went to U Vic and got my teaching certificate. I sort of had that as a backup and ended up doing that for the first few years. The main reason I got here was they had some contract projects, and they needed someone who had experience with VAX computer systems. I had that as a result of working for Malaspina College, looking at their VAX systems. It was pretty rudimentary knowledge, but it was basically what they needed. I guess the main reason I got in here was my computer skills.

Is that a good avenue for people to take? I've been told that you should be very broad in the skills that you have.

I guess I'm trying to come to grips with that. It used to be with field work that you did want as broad a set of skills as you could get, because you run into all sorts of things out in the field that you have to deal with that you're not trained for in university. Nowadays, with so much time being spent on the computer analyzing data, computer and mathematical skills are important. If you have a good math background it seems like you can sort of write you own ticket.

What do you enjoy most about your position here at the Station?

I guess the fact that you're never faced with the same problem twice, there's a wide variety of problems. There's always something different to work on. Of course it can also be a distraction at times.

And what do you dislike the most about your job?

I guess it comes down mostly to the insecurity involved in the changes that are happening. This is true no matter where you work, there are always changes. Things are in a constant state of flux, and I guess mainly its the feeling that you don't know where anything is going five years down the line. Its difficult to do that when dealing with a species like herring which live for ten years. It would be nice to have projects that lasted a bit longer than one or two years. But that's just a fact of life, no matter where you're working.

What advice would you give to young people interested in getting into fisheries biology?

Pay attention to math, I think that's the big one. And there are some really plum jobs available in fisheries biology around the world. If you've got that background, it gives you a lot of flexibility. I'm not sure if there are more jobs outside of Canada, but there certainly are different jobs available. For example, you may want to spend your time sitting with your laptop under a palm tree and working on lobster!

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