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Ocean Associates Inc. (OAI) is seeking an applicant to provide Spatial Fisheries Management Modeling support to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC), Conservation Biology (CB) Division in Seattle, WA. OAI is a Virginia corporation established in 2003 that provides consulting and technical services to the U.S. government, non-governmental organizations, international organizations, and the private sector. We specialize in scientific program and project management, strategic planning, professional and technical services, and stakeholder engagement, supporting government contracts.
Background
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is responsible for the conservation and management of our Nation’s living marine resources and their habitats. By developing high quality science and supporting an ecosystem-based approach to management, NMFS provides important services to the Nation, including sustainable fisheries, healthy ecosystems, safe seafood, and protected species recovery. In the Pacific Northwest Region of the US, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center (NWFSC) provides science in support of managing living marine resources along the US West Coast, including those that use interior watersheds that support anadromous fish such as salmon and steelhead.
The development of the offshore wind energy sector promises to create an entirely new use of the ocean and coastal ports along the US West Coast. The Federal government and the states of California and Oregon are pursuing an ambitious schedule for development of offshore wind. The Biden-Harris Administration set a goal of tackling the climate crisis by deploying 30 gigawatts (GW) of offshore wind energy nationwide by 2030 “while protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use”, and this is intended to be a pathway to developing 110 gigawatts by 2050.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is the lead federal agency for offshore energy development and leasing. BOEM seeks consultation from NMFS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act or MSA) for essential fish habitat. Developers seek incidental take authorizations from NMFS under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). Given their unique expertise in fisheries, living marine resources and their habitats, and the ecosystems in which they live, NMFS also may review and provide comments on potential impacts to our trust resources included in BOEM’s Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements prepared under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
Development of the offshore wind energy sector creates the need for a unique set of scientific research objectives to support NMFS’ management mandates and inform responsible and sustainable development of this new ocean-use sector. One of the groups best poised to support this research is the California Current Integrated Ecosystem Assessment (CCIEA), an interdisciplinary research effort led by NMFS and fueled by many staff at NWFSC. The CCIEA program’s goal is to provide science support for ecosystem-based management of the California Current, the productive large marine ecosystem along the US West Coast. Because the effects of offshore wind development will change over time, cross-cut multiple sectors, and span the full social-ecological system there is a need for strategic, ecosystem-scale science to inform decision makers and proactively deconflict ocean uses. The CCIEA provides a framework and delivery system for co-developed, integrative science products to inform management decisions that intersect ocean-use communities.
At NMFS, a major question emerging from offshore wind development is: how will the population dynamics of commercial fisheries species change due to fisheries closures associated with wind energy areas? More to the point, there is concern about how changes in population and ecosystem dynamics caused by wind energy development will affect the reliability of decision support tools such as stock assessments, which underpin harvest advice to fisheries managers. The focus of this position is to address these questions and concerns by improving knowledge around how offshore wind (OSW) development will affect fisheries stocks and ecosystem dynamics, including fisheries and fishing communities.
Description
The scope of this work is to lead activities and development of products that will improve our understanding of how offshore wind (OSW) development will affect fisheries stocks, in collaboration with CCIEA scientists. These activities and deliverables should result in better service to the public through analyses that inform stock assessments and harvest management advice. Focal activities will include: 1) identifying species most likely to be affected by OSW development through the displacement of commercial fishing; 2) developing population, multispecies and/or ecosystem models for species-of-interest; 3) developing spatial scenarios of current and likely areas for OSW development across the U.S. West Coast; and 4) simulating population, multi-species and/or ecosystem dynamics using the OSW development scenarios to identify how, and at what spatial scale, species’ demographic parameters may change as a result of newly-closed fishing grounds. Parameters or measures of interest will likely include density, abundance, size- and age-structure, which are all important data used to inform and conduct NMFS stock assessments.
The main objective of this project is to lead development of an analytical framework to assess potential impacts to NMFS stock assessments and the rest of the ecosystem that could arise due to the displacement of commercial fishing effort from areas being developed by new ocean-use sectors such as OSW. This framework will enable more informed advice on the impacts of OSW development to NMFS stock assessments, commercially-important species and species interactions. This scientific advice will contribute to the responsible and sustainable development of OSW and other ocean-use sectors in the future, while simultaneously ensuring current fisheries management advice is well-informed of the potential risks of future spatial management scenarios.
Tasks
Task 1: Identify species of interest.
Task 2: Develop population, multi-species and/or ecosystem models.
Task 3: develop spatial scenarios of OSW development.
Task 4: Simulate and report model dynamics using the OSW development scenarios.
Deliverables
Deliverables shall relate to the above tasks and will include, but not necessarily be limited to, the following:
Start Date: As soon as possible.
Location: Northwest Fisheries Science Center Seattle, WA. Remote work will be considered for the right candidate, but periodic on site, in person, work may be needed.
Travel: Travel is anticipated and authorized for this order. Domestic travel may be required for regional meetings and conferences to discuss and present project related work and objectives.
Salary and Benefits: This is a full-time position with benefits. Salary, commensurate with experience, between $34.00 - $38.00 per hour.
Requirements
Applicants must have the following minimum requirements:
If you are interested in being considered for this position, please APPLY THROUGH OUR ADP WEB PORTAL, AT THE LINK AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE.
Only qualified applicants that meet minimum experience or background requirements stated above need apply. When applying for this position you will be asked to upload your resume at the end of this online application.
Applicants should submit a resume that includes the following:
In compliance with federal law, all persons hired will be required to verify identity and eligibility to work in the United States, complete the required employment eligibility verification document form upon hire, and successfully complete a federal government background check. Ocean Associates Inc. is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not unlawfully discriminate on the basis of any status or condition protected by applicable federal or state law.
OAI is a government contractor and is required by law to invite applicants to self-identify their race, gender, national origin, disability status and veteran status. OAI is required to use the information it collects as part of its future affirmative action efforts in hiring. The information is collected anonymously by computer and is not connected to your application. You will see a place to check certain boxes in OAI's online application. Even though the information is anonymous, self-identification is voluntary. You can always check the box that says you decline to self-identify.
Note: If you are not selected, your materials may be retained for present or future opportunities. We may use your resume in bidding on a project and if we are awarded the work, we will contact you before seeking further applicants. If you do not wish us to retain or use your resume to seek work for you, please let us know in the "Notes" section on the second page of the online application.
This job is no longer accepting applications
See open jobs at Ocean Associates.See open jobs similar to "Spatial Fisheries Mgmt Modeling Support" Schmidt Marine.