Dr. Charles "Chuck" Manooch III was born in Raleigh, NC. In 1962, he joined the U.S. Army and served for several years before enrolling at Campbell University in Buies Creek, NC. In 1966, he earned his Bachelor's Degree in Biology. Chuck's career in marine biology started with a brief stint as a unit biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission in central Florida after graduation. Then he pursued further studies at North Carolina State University (NCSU) in Raleigh, working under 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.

 Dr. Randolph “Randy” L. Ferguson was born in Wisconsin along the shores of Lake Michigan and
spent his formative years there.

 During his mid-teens the family moved to New York; there, he enrolled in Cornell University and graduated in 1967 with a Bachelor’s Degree concentrating in Environmental Sciences.

 He entered graduate school at Florida State University in Tallahassee and received his Ph.D. from FSU in 1971; his dissertation dealt with the effects of light and temperature on the growth and productivity of phytoplankton.

• 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. 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.

• 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.

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.

• 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

Dr. Gordon Thayer, a renowned Fishery Biologist, has made substantial contributions to the field of fisheries research and management. He obtained a Master's degree from the University of Delaware and later pursued his Ph.D. at North Carolina State University. In 1968, Gordon joined the Beaufort Lab, where he dedicated over three decades to the study of fisheries. Gordon was instrumental in establishing the Seagrass Program at the Beaufort Laboratory in the late 1960s, contributing to the preservation and conservation of seagrass habitats. Dr.

"What stimulated me and pleased me very much with my position as a research biologist, was that I felt that the government, under this program, was really trying to benefit the industry and the industry recognized that they would benefit.  As you said, it was best to have good data about the fishery and the fish.  So, we developed a very, very close relationship."