Hi MFCC!
My name is Nick Calabrese, My Fishing Cape Cod member and PhD Candidate and Senior Technical Associate at the UMASS Dartmouth School for Marines Science and Technology (SMAST). I work in the Marine Fisheries Field Research Group (MMFRG) where we focus on using innovative technologies to survey fish, scallop, and lobster populations.
This field season (April-October) we are looking to hire some seasonal technicians to assist with all our projects. There may also be availability for new graduate students in the Fall. I’ll give a brief description of what we do below.
If anyone is interested, please email your resume to [email protected], and don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
SMAST Video Trawl Survey
The project I lead is a bottom trawl survey that uses cameras and lights placed in the codend of the net to identify and count fish. Using this technology, we can leave the codend open and never actually harvest any fish.
There is a live feed of the video to the wheelhouse where it is recorded and uploaded to a custom website. Our techs will review this video to count and measure fish.
We are also trying to adapt this technology to be used on active fishing vessels, so captains can have real time video in their nets and can fish more efficiently by reducing bycatch. Technicians could help in the development of this system as well.
Finally, we are testing a new trawl technology that does not use trawl doors and can be automatically controlled to hover above the sea floor. Technicians can assist as we go on commercial vessels to fish this system side by side with traditional gear to test catch rates, by-catch rates, and fuel consumption.
SMAST Drop Camera Survey
The SMAST drop camera survey uses a steel pyramid with lights and cameras to take images of the sea floor. This system is deployed from commercial fishing vessels. Technicians then identify and count different invertebrates and fish, with a focus on scallops.
Data from this survey is used in the scallop stock assessment and helps to determine the quotas for the fishery. We are looking for employees to both aid in image analysis and to conduct the surveys at sea.
SMAST Windfarm Surveys
We are also conducting ventless lobster trap and plankton surveys as part of our offshore wind environmental impact assessment.
The larval processing includes identifying and staging all lobster larvae, crab, shrimp, and fish species. New technicians will work both in the field on board commercial lobster vessels, conducting surveys and, in the laboratory, processing larval samples.
How to Apply for a Job
As mentioned above, this field season (April-October) we are looking to hire some seasonal technicians to assist with all our projects. There may also be availability for new graduate students in the Fall.
If anyone is interested, please email your resume to [email protected], and don’t hesitate to reach out to me with any questions.
Thank you MFCC! 🎣
Nick are you any relation to the well known Calabrese family from the Mass beach buggy assoc.# 205 Dorothy