Do you want to play an important role in tackling the climate change emergency by helping to enable the sustainable development of offshore wind in Scotland? The Marine Directorate in Scotland is currently advertising for a Fisheries Acoustician based in Aberdeen.
This is an exciting opportunity for a scientist to work on how offshore renewable energy developments may impact on marine ecosystems and food-webs.
Marine Scotland is a Directorate of the Scottish Government and is responsible for the integrated management of Scotland's seas. The fixed term post (until 31 March 2026) is associated with the PrePARED (Predators + Prey Around Renewable Energy Developments) project, funded by the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change programme and Crown Estate Scotland. The successful candidate will direct and coordinate acoustic surveys of fish assemblages (when at sea), process acoustic signal and catch data into fish abundance data, take part in the analysis of Baited Camera video records, contribute to the analysis of distribution data (e.g. species distribution models) and communicate the results.
The post holder will be required to work at sea as project objectives require. It is anticipated that the role will be focussed on issues related to offshore wind, however there is a flexible resourcing policy within the Marine Directorate and the post holder may be required to work on other areas as required.
Responsibilities
- Lead the collection of acoustic and trawl catch data at sea (including decisions on when to fish and adapt transect design) using systems provided on the MSS research vessel (e.g. EK60, towed echosounders)
- Process all raw acoustic data (echo integration) and catch data using proprietary tools in the production of fish abundance estimates and seabed maps. Analyse video footages from Baited Cameras and model fish distributions (species distribution models)
- Communicate effectively project successes, outputs and deliverables to PrePARED work package leads
- Produce draft communication briefings to the PrePARED lead where required during the course of the project.
Competencies:
(Provide evidence at assessment / interview)
- Analysis and Use of Evidence
- Self-Awareness
- Communication & Engagement
- Improving Performance
Candidates will be assessed via the Science framework, details Science specialist competency framework.
Qualifications
(Provide evidence in application form)
- A demonstrable track record in the collection of active acoustic data and drawing inference relating to fish communities and proven experience of processing the acoustic signal (e.g. EK60 echosounder) with echo integration software (e.g. Echoview).
- Experience of collecting fisheries acoustic data at sea.
- Proven experience with R and the use of common statistical models (GLMs, mixed models, GAMs) as well as GIS software, such as QGIS or ArcGIS.
- An ability to meet project milestones, working both within a multi-disciplinary team and independently, within tight timescales.
Applications close 28 July 2024.
Further details
For further information, including the application process, please visit here.
