The Institute of Sea Fisheries of the Johann Heinrich von Thünen Institute, one of 15 Federal Research Institutes for Rural Areas, Forestry and Fisheries in Germany, is offering a research position limited to 36 months starting at the earliest possible date as a

Research Scientist (m/f/d)

Hydroacoustics, Fisheries Biology, Biological Oceanography, Physics, Computer Sciences

in part-time with 65% of regular working hours.

The position will include the opportunity for further scientific qualification (PhD, doctorate). The research will focus on using and developing hydroacoustic methods to improve input parameters for the North Sea saithe stock assessment. This is a fixed term post within the Operational Observation Systems research unit in accordance with § 2 Abs. 1 S. 1 Wissenschaftszeitvertragsgesetz.

Saithe (Pollachius virens) is a key species within the German fisheries. Uncertainties in the current stock assessment arise from insufficient catchability of saithe and possibly insufficient spatial resolution of fisheries independent surveys. Both, commercial fisheries and scientific surveys to record stock parameters of saithe are carried out with demersal trawls. An unknown proportion of saithe is distributed outside of the sampled layers. Concurrent acoustic recordings bear the potential to quantify this unknown proportion. Continuous recording of hydroacoustic data could significantly increase the spatial and temporal resolution of saithe stock information.

Research questions:

• Can the use of hydroacoustic information for distribution and abundance estimates reduce uncertainties within the stock assessment of saithe and better resolve and explain stock trends.
• Can the opportunistic and automated collection of hydroacoustic data from commercial vessels, in combination with catch information, be a viable data source, or is a scientific acoustic trawl survey necessary to reduce uncertainties?

The research questions will be addressed in cooperation with the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center (Seattle, WA, USA) and the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) of the University of Washington (Seattle, WA, USA). The qualification/doctorate can be obtained through the University of Hamburg.

Your tasks:

• Participation in commercial and scientific seagoing voyages and collection of hydroacoustic and biological data
• Application and development of hydroacoustic methods for the detection and identification of saithe using open source and commercial software packages
• Application and development of statistical methods to estimate the abundance and biomass of saithe
• Participation in and presentation of results at relevant scientific working groups and conferences
• Publication of results in scientific journals and other suitable media

Professional requirements:

• University degree (MSc or equivalent) in marine biology/ecology, physics, mathematics, engineering, computer science, bioinformatics or related fields
• Experience with advanced statistical methods and population dynamics modelling (e.g. geostatistics, VPA and its derivatives)
• Programming skills (Python, R, Julia, C, Java or similar) and experience in the development of open-source software
• Knowledge of hydroacoustic methods and data analysis is desirable
• Knowledge of numerical modelling is an advantage

Personal requirements:

• Willingness to participate in multi-week seagoing voyages and other professional multi-day travel (national and international)
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills in English and proven ability to work in a team.
• Goal-orientated working style, independent working style, high degree of initiative
• Ability to analyse complex issues
• Previous sea-going experience is an advantage

We offer you integration into a dynamic, interdisciplinary research institute and proximity to current policy-relevant discussions that are also of great interest to the public. You will be given a high degree of personal freedom and have access to a wide range of further training programmes. We offer a family-friendly working environment.

The employment relationship is based on the provisions of the collective labour agreement for the public service (TVöD). The salary is paid according to pay group 13 TVöD if the personal and collective agreement requirements are met.

The Thünen Institute promotes the professional equality of women and men and therefore expressly welcomes applications from women.

Severely disabled persons will be given special consideration if equally qualified. They are only required to have a minimum level of physical aptitude within the scope of their duties.

If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Matthias Schaber (matthias.schaber@thuenen.de) or Dr. Sven Gastauer (sven.gastauer@thuenen.de).

Written applications with a CV in tabular form, a description of your education and professional career as well as copies of certificates are requested by 30.08.2024 under the reference „2024-156-SF“ to

sf-bewerbungen@thuenen.de

Johann Heinrich von Thünen-Institut

Institut für Seefischerei

Herwigstrasse 31, 27572 Bremerhaven

Germany

Informations about Artikel 13 DSGVO: www.thuenen.de/de/thuenen-institut/karriere