Gear Liaison - Protected Species and Fisheries Gear

Gear Liaison Position

Lynker Corporation, in strategic partnership with Fisheries Immersed Science Hawaii (FISH) as the FLOAT – the "FISH" and "Lynker" Ocean Alliance Team Joint Venture, is seeking a Gear Liaison to support NOAA NMFS protected species and fisheries gear programs. This position will provide scientific, technical, field, outreach, and coordination support focused on reducing marine mammal and sea turtle bycatch in commercial fishing gear, supporting gear modification research and implementation, and helping fishermen understand and apply protected species gear requirements and best practices.

NOAA NMFS works with commercial fishing industry partners, science centers, regional program staff, law enforcement, and other stakeholders to evaluate and implement practical solutions that reduce protected species interactions while supporting sustainable fisheries. This Gear Liaison position will help bridge technical gear research, field testing, operational fishing knowledge, and industry outreach. The successful candidate will be comfortable working directly with fishermen, gear specialists, protected species staff, scientists, and enforcement personnel to support effective, practical, and scientifically defensible gear solutions.

Duties of the Gear Liaison will include the following:

• Work directly with commercial fishermen, vessel operators, gear manufacturers, researchers, and other partners to create, modify, rig, test, and evaluate fishing gear configurations aboard commercial fishing vessels.
• Participate in field studies and at-sea or dockside evaluations of gear-based solutions intended to reduce marine mammal and sea turtle bycatch.
• Support projects focused on reducing large whale, sea turtle, and other protected species bycatch in Northwest Atlantic fixed gear fisheries, including trap/pot and gillnet fisheries.
• Support gear research and field evaluations involving bottom trawl gear, including Turtle Excluder Device testing and other modifications intended to reduce sea turtle or protected species bycatch.
• Evaluate how proposed gear modifications may affect actual fishing operations, including gear deployment, hauling, handling, retrieval, catch retention, gear loss, crew safety, and operational feasibility.
• Translate between technical/scientific protected species objectives and the practical realities of fishing gear use, vessel operations, weather, fishing grounds, port logistics, and crew practices.
• Demonstrate appropriate installation, configuration, use, and maintenance of protected species gear modifications during dockside outreach, field visits, and industry interactions.
• Explain gear requirements, gear modification concepts, and protected species risk-reduction measures to fishermen in practical, operational terms.
• Collect, compile, and help evaluate field observations, gear trial results, vessel feedback, gear performance information, and bycatch mitigation data.
• Identify trends, operational concerns, or feasibility issues observed during field studies, gear testing, dockside outreach, or industry discussions.
• Support law enforcement inspection and compliance monitoring by providing technical gear expertise, helping interpret gear configurations, and assisting with protected species gear-related questions.
• Assist with review of gear installation, gear marking, weak link use, line configuration, trap/pot setups, gillnet configurations, trawl/TED setups, and other gear features relevant to protected species compliance or bycatch reduction.
• Support entanglement gear analysis in collaboration with regional and science center gear teams, including reviewing recovered gear removed from marine mammals or sea turtles.
• Assist with technical evaluation of recovered entangling gear, including gear type, configuration, line characteristics, knots/splices, markings, attached components, wear patterns, and other features that may inform source identification or entanglement risk analysis.
• Support gear warehouse curation and recordkeeping for recovered gear, including maintaining the chain of information needed for later technical review, research, enforcement coordination, or management use.
• Provide technical input for Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team discussions, including gear feasibility, industry practices, operational constraints, implementation challenges, and potential unintended consequences of proposed measures.
• Support development, assessment, and implementation of gear-related options associated with the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan and other protected species bycatch reduction efforts.
• Review and interpret fishing gear information, field notes, trip reports, gear trial findings, enforcement observations, industry feedback, and protected species interaction information to support technical recommendations.
• Help identify practical gear-based mitigation measures that can be tested, refined, or implemented to reduce entanglement and bycatch risk while considering fishery…