Heeny and Linda Yuen
Voices from the Science Centers
Voices from the Science Centers is an oral history initiative dedicated to documenting the institutional knowledge of fisheries scientists and administrators in the labs of NOAA’s Fisheries Science Centers.
Heeny Yuen was born in 1926 in Hawaii. After leaving the Army, he completed his bachelors degree at the University of Michigan. He then returned to Hawaii and began a career in fisheries management at the Honolulu Lab while a graduate student. His first job was as a plankton picker. Over his long career, Heeny‘s research focus was varied with his later work focusing primarily on tuna and shark. He participated in numerous research cruises throughout his career over the vast Pacific territory. He retired in 1991 and as of this interview still lives in Hawaii. Linda Yuen was born in 1927 in Hawaii. She attended the University of Michigan. She and Heeny married in 1951.
Interview contains discussion of: set up of the NOAA lab in Hawaii, research trips in the Pacific Ocean, social interactions between scientists, visiting international scientists, family histories, life in Hawaii, mapping Pacific currents, aku feeding, tuna canneries in Hawaii, native Hawaiians at the lab, impact of early 1970s budgetary cuts on research.
This interview with Heeny and Linda Yuen contains a rich description of Heeny‘s experiences on research cruises around the Pacific Ocean, as well as their social experiences at the Honolulu Lab and the people they met and befriended over time.
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