Hello all, We are in the final stages of building the recruitment package for a Supervisory Research Fishery Biologist or Ecologist to lead the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's Protected Species Branch in Woods Hole, MA. The Protected Species Branch is a group of very experienced and talented field biologists and analysts focused on marine mammal and sea turtle conservation (see http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/psb/). In the near future, the Branch is likely to expand its research efforts to include work on endangered and threatened fish, through incorporation of the Center’s Atlantic Salmon Research and Conservation Task (see http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/salmon/). The Center’s marine mammal, sea turtle, and diadromous fisheries scientists work on some of the most endangered marine species (Atlantic salmon and North Atlantic right whales); use cutting edge technologies and transform them to operational research and monitoring tools; lead international, national, and regional research programs; and collaborate with a large array of federal, state, tribal, academic, industry, and non-governmental organizations, as well as the international science community. This is an exciting time and place to work on protected marine species. The Branch Chief who oversees this work is a critical position for the Center, and we hope to attract a strong applicant pool of candidates with science-supervisory experience. To improve our chances of attracting strong applicants, we wanted to reach out broadly to let interested candidates know this opportunity is coming. Anyone interested should start preparing their materials at USAJOBS (www.usajobs.gov). Once the job announcement is posted, there will likely be a 2 week or less application period, and we wanted interested candidates to have a little time in advance to start getting their USAJOBS resume, transcripts, etc. in order. We expect the announcement to post in the next few weeks. -- Mike Simpkins, Ph.D. Chief, Resource Evaluation and Assessment Division Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/NMFS 166 Water Street, Woods Hole, MA 02543 Phone: 508-495-2358 Fax: 508-495-2032