My love affair with the sea

Mary Livingston^*

• independent researcher, Wellington, New Zealand

During my doctorate years in New Zealand, it became clear to me that fisheries research could poten<ally provide me with a gateway into a lifelong career in marine science. New Zealand declared its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) in 1978, and suddenly fisheries scien<sts were scrambling to assess the extent of offshore fish resources in the region. Marine science job opportuni<es expanded, and employers were keen to take on women like me. It was an era when biological knowledge about fish was s<ll held in high esteem and an exci<ng <me to look for work. In 1985 I was appointed as a government research scien<st to work on the deepwater fish species hoki (Macruronus novaezelandiae), a merluccid hake that was to become New Zealand's largest fishery (Fisheries New Zealand 2024a).We had a small research vessel, R.V. 'James Cook' that was really quite unsuitable for New Zealand's offshore waters, so we made do with chartering large research and commercial fishing vessels from other na<ons that were already legi<mately fishing as joint ventures in our offshore zone. Cultural and language barriers added to the challenges that we all faced at sea (men and women) but o[en as not, the women were beker at appeasing the foreign skippers than our male colleagues. By this I mean we demonstrated considerably higher emo<onal intelligence or "EQ" which helped to smooth the pathway for successful surveys and robust data collec<on while on board. Survey work at-sea was our bread and buker as scien<sts, and although rou<ne, we were s<ll exploring the fish poten<al of our EEZ. Strange and new species were regularly found, and there was ample scope for taxonomic and gene<c studies to be conducted alongside the assessment surveys. Exci<ng discoveries were made, such as an abundance of fish, (e.g., orange roughy) at great depths that lived to 100 years plus- (Mace et al 1990). We also found that many of our deepwater species did not spawn every year; another unexpected result (Livingston & Bull, 2000). Feeding studies and trophic modelling began to point to fairly low produc<vity in our waters (Bradford-Grieve & Livingston 2011), and more cau<on was introduced into the models that were used for stock assessment. There was s<ll much to learn.A major change during my early career included the introduc<on of New Zealand's Quota Management System (QMS) in 1986 (Mace et al 2014). Much has been wriken about it from both posi<ve and nega<ve viewpoints, but the legisla<on had been nego<ated among all par<es and was deemed to be a science-based way of assessing fish stocks that would lead to sustainable fishing and quota ownership for fishers (Fisheries New Zealand 2024a).At sea and in the field, women scien<sts entered the world of men in New Zealand. We were teased and tested mercilessly by some of the crew and had to learn to stand our ground. In the early days, the ships were not equipped for women's needs par<cularly when it came to shared bathroom facili<es or uniquely female challenges such a menstrua<on, but stand our ground we did. Similar challenges were experienced by women involved in coastal work (Hamylton et al. 2023, Department of Conserva<on 2022) and female observers at sea on fishing vessels (Schmidt-McCleave 2020). On almost every survey, there would be at least two women on the science team, and we supported each other fervently. Again, how lucky I was.Gender related barriers to career development were widespread among work colleagues back on land. It was s<ll a very male-dominated work environment and an arrogant air seemed to permeate among some of the scien<sts. I am sure it was not inten<onal, and indeed there were some managers who were very sensi<ve to encouraging women scien<sts to succeed along with their male counterparts. But there were some unspoken barriers among colleagues around our physical robustness for fieldwork, our prowess in mathema<cs, and perceived social threats to male camaraderie by sending female scien<sts into the field with them. We had to work hard at gepng the balance right and manage those percep<ons.In the 1990s, New Zealand's science system was significantly restructured, and research science was split off from policy and management in a newly formed Ministry of Fisheries in 1995. We researchers were merged into NIWA, and became part of a Crown Research Ins<tute with a much broader marine science mandate than just fisheries.My new employers were highly suppor<ve regarding career opportuni<es for women, and when I decided to have a family, I was given a full range of choices regarding my science posi<on, which they kept open for me for a year. Because so many of us were having children, they even built an on-site childcare centre for us to use -all part of the Equal Employment Opportunity focus of the <mes. I opted to work part-<me when my children were small, and because of that, I did not go to sea very much, and I suspect that my career progress slowed during that period. Juggling family commitments with career commitments was hard, and the lack of visibility at work did not help. When I finally returned to work full-<me, things drama<cally improved. In retrospect, any biases I think revolved around being a part-<mer rather than being female per se. I do believe that help with transi<oning back into professional work could be very helpful to women who are out of the workforce for extended periods.There have been many studies to show that women scien<st's salaries lag behind those of their male counterparts and although it has improved, there is s<ll room for improvement (OECD 2022, Gardner et al 2020). However, it was difficult to find out what others were paid as it was private informa<on that remained undisclosed, so, I largely ignored it. I found that I had to conserve my energy for the work at hand rather than par<cular bakle.A[er my first 10 years or so as a fisheries scien<st, interest in the environmental effects of fishing began to grow world-wide. My own interest in this also developed as did my concern about the effects of climate change and ocean acidifica<on on fisheries produc<vity. I became heavily involved in the Marine Stewardship Council cer<fica<on for the hoki fishery and saw the environmental compliance required as a step forwards for industry and management (Marine Stewardship Council 2001). It seemed to me that the government had not forecast the extent of global concern for the environment and the interna<onal spotlight it would bring to the long-term sustainability prac<ces of New Zealand's Fisheries and con<nued to twist and turn trying to make it seem like fisheries were environmentally managed, when in fact there was much more that could be done. I decided to move from my ac<ve research role in NIWA into science management in the Ministry of Fisheries. This move expanded my scien<fic remit, leading me to a much greater understanding of the links between policy, management and science advice. It was an exci<ng <me for marine research as the newly launched Biodiversity Strategy (Department of Conserva<on & Ministry for the Environment 2000) brought some research money into Fisheries that enabled the first steps towards understanding the environmental context in which fisheries operated. Typical ques<ons included: How diverse were the ecosystems of our seas? What was happening with regards to climate change effects? How was ecosystem func<on affected by fishing ac<vity? Across government, mapping biodiversity in the ocean environment became a priority and helped us to iden<fy areas of vulnerability that needed protec<on from fishing (e.g. Brodie & Clark 2003, Mace et al 2014, Cryer et al 2016, Fisheries New Zealand 2024b, Department of Conserva<on 2020). The fisheries research surveys were mandated to collect a broader suite of environmental data, and joint Government agency programmes were developed to ensure that baseline data was collected. This second stage of my career was exhilara<ng and I did not feel discriminated against in any way. There was a will to collec<vely work on thorny issues about our oceans, and there was significant support for programmes that would improve our base understanding of the marine ecosystem. Unfortunately this was not sustained. The financial crisis of 2008 led to huge budget cuts in science, significant restructuring across government departments and nearly all cross departmental funding was withdrawn. The changes had a huge impact on our ability to network across government and con<nue the programmes on marine data collec<on. For me personally, this became a dark era. The Ministry of Fisheries was folded in under the Ministry for Primary Industries and lost its autonomy. As individuals, we also lost our workplace autonomy and were coerced into a highly regimented authoritarian opera<onal model that I found very challenging to thrive in. The barriers to career progression for women seem to rear larger once more.In 2014, the Na<onal Science Challenges were launched and "Our Sustainable Seas" was hailed as being the way forwards for improving ecosystem based management in the marine environment. Yet in the early years, fisheries scien<sts were virtually excluded from the Challenge. By 2020 this had changed, and fisheries became a clearer component of Sustainable Seas.At the <me of wri<ng, funding for fisheries related environmental research has con<nued to shrink significantly, and has to compete with stock assessment, which has also shrunk. Funding for monitoring fishstocks and fisheries management is largely cost recovered from the seafood industry (Government of New Zealand 2025). Funding to monitor the effects of fishing on the environment is however less clear cut, and argument over how much of the research is for public good rather than fisheries management is o[en quite heated. Controversy also arises over Iwi rela<onships with the Crown, and again, funding for iwi priori<es has to compete with other research funding. Progress on the longed-for cogovernance model of Iwi and the Crown for fisheries management remains slow to develop (Sustainable Seas 2024a, Rout et al 2024).The struggle for science posi<ons everywhere has become highly compe<<ve as funding has reduced and cutbacks to government departments have been implemented (Meier 2024). The turnover rate in science staff is far higher than it used to be, making it difficult for women to compete, par<cularly when they are raising young families. It seems that women are s<ll paid less than men for equivalent work in fisheries science, and that the number of women in senior posi<ons remains small.To sum up my career in fisheries science I have been fully stretched during my career, both as a scien<st and as a human being. The kind of background that I had in my biological degrees served me well in my career, and took me to many parts of the world, including Alaska, Antarc<ca and Europe. However I think that as fisheries management moves forwards with ever increasing complexity, the next genera<on of lovers of the sea will need to be beker equipped in the mathema<cal, societal and economic areas of systems thinking and brokering a poli<cal philosophy of working together than I was exposed to (Lawrence et al 2023).There have been many in depth reviews and strategies published that provide a sound basis for the collabora<ve future of fisheries research and management in New Zealand (e. There are so many unifying views across the sector on how fisheries management could be improved and it is up to the next genera<on of scien<sts to take this forward. If the marine or 'blue' economy is to expand, new and greater investment will be required to obtain the broader informa<on base needed. Here's hoping there is a will to work collec<vely on progressing the fisheries issues across government.I have enjoyed my career as a marine scien<st and my love of the sea has not faded. I have made many friends during it, and as a woman I have been treated well. As a scien<st, the treatment has been less rosy, and there is much room for improvement. Can we give more credence to a shared love of the sea as we move forwards into the blue economy? I sincerely hope so.