Herb Marvin is a native of Homestead, Florida, with deep familial ties to the region's commercial fishing industry. His personal history is interwoven with the environmental and industrial changes in Florida Bay. Marvin's upbringing in Homestead provided him with a unique perspective on the natural landscape and the community's reliance on its resources. His family's involvement in commercial fishing allowed him firsthand insight into the practices and challenges of the industry.

James Bohnsack was born on September 3, 1947 in Flint, Michigan. He began working at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in 1984 as a research fishery biologist. At the time of this interview in 2016, he was the Division Chief at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center, a position he has held since 2004.

Bradford Brown was born in 1939 in Worcester, Massachusetts. He received his undergraduate degree from Cornell, his Master's from Auburn and his PhD from Oklahoma State University. He began working for the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries at the Woods Hole lab in 1962. He worked in Woods Hole, Massachusetts from 1962 – 1965 and 1970- 1984. In between he served as Assistant Leader of the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Oklahoma Cooperative Fisheries Units and as Assistant Professor of Zoology at Oklahoma State University.

David McClellan was born on August 18, 1949 in Honolulu, Hawaii. He worked for NOAA at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center as a Fisheries Research Biologist for 37 years, conducting countless dives to gather data on the fisheries.

Interview contains discussion of: Southeast Fisheries Science Center, collecting fisheries data, NOAA divers, evolution and effect of data collection technology, benefits and disadvantages for working for a government agency, Reef Fish Visual Census Program.

Dr. Joseph Powers was born on February 19, 1949 in Gustine, California. He has earned degrees from the University of California, Davis A.B. Zoology 1971; California State University, Humboldt M.S. Fisheries Biology 1973 ; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University PhD Fisheries Science 1975. He began his career with National Marine Fisheries Service at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center in 1975. He then moved to the Southeast Fisheries Science Centers in 1979.

Dr. Steve Turner was born on May 23, 1949 in Providence, Rhode Island. He began working in 1974 at what was then the Mid Atlantic Fisheries Science Center at the Sandy Hook lab which was merged into the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. He received his PhD from Rutgers University in 1986. He moved to the Southeast Fisheries Science Center from 1984, and is currently the Fisheries Statistics Division Chief at the Southeast Fisheries Science Center in Miami.

Max Mayfield was born on September 19, 1948, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He attended the University of Oklahoma, earning a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology. He began his career with the National Weather Service in 1972 and held various positions within the organization before becoming the director of the National Hurricane Center in 2000. Mayfield pursued further education at Florida State University, obtaining a Master of Science degree in Meteorology. During his tenure, he provided expertise and guidance during numerous significant hurricanes, including Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Dr. Ed Rappaport was born in 1957 in Southern California. He earned his undergraduate and master’s degrees in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Washington.  Ed then received his Ph.D. with an emphasis in Atmospheric Science from Texas Tech University.  Dr. Rappaport began at NHC as a post-doctoral fellow for the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research.

Dr. Lixion Avila is a renowned meteorologist who has made significant contributions to the field of weather forecasting. Born on November 25, 1950, in Havana, Cuba, Avila grew up in an American church, celebrating holidays like Thanksgiving. His family history traces back to Spain on his father's side and Eastern Europe on his mother's side. Avila's father held various jobs, one of which was a cowboy, transporting cattle from Central Cuba to Havana. Growing up in the Caribbean, he encountered and became fascinated with tropical storms.

Dr. Ian Enochs is the co-principal investigator of ACCRETE (Acidification, Climate, and Coral Reef Ecosystems TEam), NCRMP (National Coral Reef Monitoring Program), and AOAT (Atlantic Ocean Acidification Test-bed (NOAA) ). Dr. Enochs is the principal investigator of three projects: 1) Maug: a rare ocean acidification hotspot in US waters, 2) Incorporating Risk from Ocean Acidification into Acropora nurseries, and 3) Establishing numeric nutrient criteria for Southeast Florida Reefs. Enochs graduated cum laude from the University of Miami in 2006 and later earned his Ph.D.