Racism as a marine biologist observer in Alaska?
Posted by the-dapper-squid@reddit | marinebiology | View on Reddit | 14 comments
Hello everyone. I was recently looking into working as a marine biologist observer in Alaska, but some of the posts I saw sounded like horror stories. I was just curious if I would face racism for being a brown guy with a beard? I'm assuming I will but how bad will it be? Anything else I should know about?
Fish_Beholder@reddit
Obligatory 'I'm white but-' one of my friends when I was observing was a Black woman. She definitely got hassled more than the white female observers. Are you likely to be in any danger bc of your race? Nah. Will you likely get a heaping helping of casual bigotry of all flavors? Oh my yes. One of my interview questions was basically "do you have thick enough skin to handle this?"
That shouldn't automatically discourage you from trying the job though. Just go in knowing the provider companies will chew you up and spit you out if you let them.
thedinosaurparade@reddit
Hello,
I was an observer for Alaskan Observers, Inc. (AOI) a few years back; I was with them for a year. I am not brown, but am mixed-black (photo for reference of what I looked like back then—photo taken during one of my seasons out).
I haven’t heard of anything regarding brown-directed racism. But I will say many fisherman are of a particular cut, and I wouldn’t hold it past them to be racist. Many fisherman I encountered (across 3 vessels) were Pacific Islander (usually Samoan), Hispanic (usually Mexican) and black (African-American) or white (mixed European). That is to say, typically there weren’t many brown folk (if brown in this instance is middle-eastern, Asian, etc.).
I am afraid I can’t offer more, but hopefully this gives you insight. You are likely to be an ethnic minority there, but that doesn’t mean they’ll exactly be racist due to your brownness (but could be)—many just are hardened, brash people and as an observer they won’t find it easy to relate to you.
Good luck! Let me know if you have any more questions.
Sushiguro31@reddit
Off topic but may I know how does one apply for such jobs? I’ll be graduating with a marine science degree next year and I was on a hunt for jobs related to the degree.
thedinosaurparade@reddit
Hello! You are highly likely to see all the initial-level fisheries observer/fisheries sampler/marine biologist jobs posted across all the general job boards (linkedin, indeed, etc.). It is a job that will certainly give you lots of hands-on, hard-form skills (keying/species identification, sampling methods, fish anatomy), but has huge turnover for various reasons (isolation, contract length, etc.).
Good luck!
SpaghettiMmm@reddit
Hey there, I'm not OP, but I was looking at applying to a similar job with AIS. Can I ask you generally how you liked the job? What was the quality of life like? Anything I should consider before taking the job? Thanks!
thedinosaurparade@reddit
Hello! I would advise you check out all accounts of those who inquire about fisheries observing on this subreddit (including other comments in this very thread)—that being said, I’ll DM you a bit more about my experience! I apologize for my delay already.
atoxicwafflePSN@reddit
Funny enough. I’m white and so is my dad. We went on a road trip to the farthest north you can go on paved roads. We ended up in some town south of Fairbanks (50miles or so) Walking to a restaurant in town, there’s a Native American man standing outside smoking. We asked him how’s it going and he said “how’s it going honky” We also did not get served at the bar
ZakA77ack@reddit
I was an observer in New England and I'm white so take this with a grain of salt. Like I/thedinosaurparade said, Fishermen are of a particular cut. Many (at least in New England) are very conservative politically, and while that doesn't make them racist, it does make them prone to saying some pretty rude things, especially when it comes to "government spies" which is how many of them regard observers.
LegacyOrca69@reddit
Fisherman don’t care what you are or where you come from. The sea doesn’t discriminate. Pull your weight on the vessel and you will be respected.
ZakA77ack@reddit
This is 100% not true. Some fishing boat captains are absolute dicks and power tripping bastards. But most are pretty chill if a tad bit serious.
ARCreef@reddit
They won't care your race or color.... but they will tease you or want to avoid you if you voted a certain way. Watch the "real men for Kamala" video... and don't say or do anything they did.
If you're from a city or left leaning don't talk politics, keep that to yourself and you'll fit in just fine. Alaska ain't Cali or NY.
Modern_Wookie@reddit
I’m a white guy so may be speaking from a position of privilege, but I remember there being more horror stories on the smaller boats (long-lining and such) than the big Catcher Processor trawlers. I’m sure there’s still a bit of it but quite honestly I was in the minority as a white guy on my boats.
flyingshank@reddit
I was an observer in the Alaska and West Coast Programs for a few years. Everyone's experience will be different, but hopefully, I can provide some insight. I'm SE Asian and had facial hair while on deployments. YMMV.
I haven't experienced egregious racism against me personally, but I've definitely seen it against Hispanic, black, and Samoan workers. Mostly not an immediate threat to safety... mostly. As an observer, your race won't necessarily be a cause for hostility. IMO I'm more concerned about homophobia, misogyny, and the perception of you being a "fish cop."
As other commenters have said, I wouldn't put it past a lot of them though... there are some good people in the fisheries. But - fishing is a hard job and Alaska does indeed attract in interesting subset of humanity. Not saying they're bad people, but a lot of them aren't prone to checking their biases, if you catch my drift.
Overall, I would say observing was a positive experience for me, which inspired me to continue in that line of work. It actually inspired me to move to Alaska. Again YMMV. DM me if you have any questions.
curlyfriezzzzz@reddit
There are many black people there if that comforts you, my lead was a black man, but like the previous commenter said they are many people there you can’t put pass them being racist