The National Marine Fishery Service observer program sends many recent graduates of marine biology programs out on fishing vessels to collect data for fisheries science and to observe fishing activity and how it affects the environment and wildlife. In stories about fishing you often hear of the efforts of sea captains and their brave crews and never a word about the observer who accepts and takes many of the same risks as anyone who signs on as a crew member in the world's most dangerous job.
Anonymous and uncelebrated fisheries observers quietly work in the background as the eyes, ears, and hands of our nation's fisheries science. In the mid-water herring industry off of New England we take them fishing often (Sometimes 80 to 100 percent of our trips). Their stay with us is always so short that they are rarely very memorable (probably by design) but there is always the exception to any rule.
Call her M. as anonymity is a requirement of this story. She came aboard like every other observer with a stack of baskets and fish measuring stuff for her work during the voyage. She was in her early twenties. In a baggy sweatshirt pulled over a slender frame with hair pulled back in a pony tail she looked like just another fresh faced college kid ready to do her part for the cause of fish science. At first she kept to herself but since we weren't going to take any fish on board the Osprey at that time of year it isn't a very demanding job for an observer. I think this whole story happened because she got bored.
My crewmate C.D. is a cribbage player with a long history of wins over fellow crew members and captains. We had been having a series of very competitive games and while there was no clear victor I would give him a slight advantage over me in both number of wins and quality of play. He is very proud of his game and ability to play and brags on himself a little at times but it's all good fun. It was not unusual that we were playing a quick game one evening after a day of fishing (that I won). While putting the board away I heard a voice behind me say, "Will you teach me how to play cribbage?"
Read the complete story from Newsvine