Dr. Jeff Govoni's was born in Wareham, Massachusetts, and spent his formative years in the Village of Buzzards Bay, fostering a deep fascination with the local plants and animals. He pursued a Bachelor's Degree in Biology at St. Anselm College in Manchester, New Hampshire, which he successfully completed in 1970. Following his graduation, he joined the Massachusetts National Guard. In the years that followed, from 1972 to 1974, Jeff worked with a consulting firm, focusing on describing the distribution of fish eggs and larvae in Narragansett Bay.

Ann Rose grew up in Harkers Island, NC where her father, Chief Ira Lewis, served in the Coast Guard. Her family lived in New York for a period while her father worked at various lifeboat stations, and they later resided at Montauk Lighthouse. After her father's retirement, they returned to Harkers Island, where Ann met her husband and started working at the Beaufort Lab in 1962 where she was employed as an Editorial Assistant until 1995. 

Scope and Content Note

Dr. Carolyn Currin began her tenure at NOAA's Beaufort Lab in 1983, initially serving as a technician under Dr. Jud Kenworthy. Her career trajectory saw her later collaborating with Dr. Peter Hanson on the Status and Trends Program. In 1986, she pursued a Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, conducting her dissertation research at the UNC-Institute of Marine Science in Morehead City, NC. Her research concentrated on the recovery and restoration of salt marshes. After completing her doctorate, Dr.

Dr. William "Bill" Sunda, a native of Arlington, Virginia, has made significant contributions to environmental science and research throughout his career. He completed his undergraduate studies at Lehigh University, graduating in 1968 with a Bachelor's degree in Environmental Science. Bill received a Fellowship for graduate studies at MIT and Woods Hole the same year. In 1975, Bill joined the Beaufort Lab as a Research Chemist, marking the beginning of a 40-year-long commitment to advancing scientific knowledge. Dr.

• Born in Beaufort, NC; raised on Pivers Island (site of the Beaufort Laboratory)
• Herb’s father, Dr. Herbert Prythrech, was Director of the Beaufort Laboratory, 1933-1949
• Graduated from East Carolina University and also served in the US Army
• Worked for the NMFS, formerly the U.S. Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, as a port agent and fishery reporting specialist in TX, SC, GA, and Miami; retired from NMFS in 1994

Dr. John V. Merriner, originally from Winchester, Virginia, has dedicated his career to the field of fisheries. He obtained his Bachelor's degree in Psychology from Rutgers University in 1964. John pursued higher education at North Carolina State University, where he earned both his Master's degree in 1967 and his Ph.D. in Fisheries in 1973. From 1970 to 1982, John was employed at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. In 1982, he joined the staff at the NMFS Beaufort Laboratory, taking on the role of Fisheries Division Chief.

• Received his Ph.D. from Iowa State University in 1965
• Did post-doctoral work at the University of Miami 1966-1967
• Employed at the Beaufort Laboratory in 1967, initially with the Menhaden Program
• Established the Reef Fish Program at the Beaufort Laboratory in the early 1970s, studying life histories of the snapper-grouper complex of fishes along the U.S.

• John grew up in Pennsylvania and received his Master’s degree in the early 1950s from Bucknell University
• He worked for about five years in the early 1950s as an oyster biologist for the State of Maryland near Annapolis
• He was hired as a fishery biologist with the Radiobiological Laboratory at the Beaufort Laboratory in 1955
• Retired from the Beaufort Laboratory in 1975
• John was 98 years old when he recorded this interview

• Raised in Maryland.
• Received her Bachelor’s and Graduate degrees in the 1970s from the University of Maryland at College Park, the latter under Dr. Eugenie Clark.
• While at College Park she volunteered at the Smithsonian and worked for Dr.

William, born and raised in Ohio, embarked on an academic journey that laid the foundation for his remarkable career. He obtained his Bachelor's degree from Duke University in 1960, marking the beginning of his pursuit of knowledge. Not long after, he furthered his education by earning a Master's degree in statistics from the University of North Carolina, followed by a Ph.D. from the University of Michigan.