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Dr. Gregory Skomal, Shark Specialist

by Kris Pieper on April 20, 2016

Meet Dr. Gregory Skomal, an accomplished marine biologist and a senior fisheries scientist at Massachusetts Marine Fisheries. Greg has done a great deal of research related to the study of life history, ecology, physiology of sharks. Check out some of his research here!

During his Lunch & Learn talk, Dr. Skomal talked about his study of shark populations off the coast of Massachusetts. He observed that white shark populations are becoming more common in our coastal waters during the summer and fall months, and he talked about the various technologies he uses to study sharks.

 

How did you get to where you are now?

I had found my fascination in studying fish in college. So I asked a professor to advise me and I started volunteering for him. He gave me research tasks related to eels and sticklebacks, vile fish. After that, I took grad-level courses as an undergraduate, through which I got to know a lot of the graduate students and all the professors. After that, I started volunteering at a lab that studied sharks, and when a technician position opened up, they hired me. I stayed with them for about five years after graduating college and I used that experience to move on. So for me, it was really all about networking and talking to professors. Every professor that I know needs help in something, so don’t be afraid to ask your professors about volunteer opportunities.

 

Can you tell me a little bit about what you did with the State Fisheries?

Everything that I do is applied science and it goes into fisheries management. So I collected the kinds of data that can be used to create sustainable fishing models—which is essentially the role of State Fisheries and the Federal Fisheries Agencies. Although there are a lot of aspects about sharks that I find fascinating, I don’t spend a lot of time studying those that do not directly help us with sustainability and conservation. I find working with the government rewarding, because I get to go to the fisheries management meetings and incorporate what I’ve learned directly into management policy and observation.

 

Are there any internship opportunities related to working with sharks?

I work mostly with graduate students, so we try to offer any opportunities to them first and foremost. But if there are undergraduate students who are really interested in what we are doing and have an interest in volunteering, we would certainly encourage them to reach out to us.

 

Do you think graduate school is necessary to work in this industry?

Nowadays, in order to keep advancing your knowledge base, and to grow and develop academically and intellectually, I think it is important to go on to graduate school. It also helps you in terms of marketability. If you want to ultimately run a lab or do research, you certainly do need to keep moving forward and go to graduate school.

 

Should students who are interested in studying sharks and doing research about them look for jobs before they go to graduate school?

I think there is certainly a personal component to this. You may not want to go on to graduate school right after college. I encourage students to experience the world first. I would say, don’t force yourself to do something you are not ready for. You may want to refine what your interests are first, so I’d say expose yourself to as many opportunities as you can.

 

What extracurricular activities could students find on campus besides volunteering at the labs?

Work closely with your professors, and seize any opportunities you have in your department. There are probably a variety of things that you can do, and they might not be exactly what you are looking for, but whatever you do, you are going to learn from it. Do your best, excel and do as best as you can in academic studies. One of the things I did was that I put aside all the requisite courses early in my career, and went on to take graduate level courses in my third year as an undergraduate student, because it immediately challenged me. You have to push yourself and force yourself beyond your limits to excel at what you are doing. Don’t be afraid to push your boundaries a little bit.

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