Patricia Gerrior
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.
Patricia Gerrior was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts and grew up in Weymouth, Massachusetts where she would spend time on the water with her father which led to her interest in marine science. She studied Biology at Colby College in Waterville, Maine and began her 40 year career during her junior year in college with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries which became NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service.
Interview contains discussions of: Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, plankton, board agent, New Bedford, fish auction, strike, haddock, cod, yellowtail flounder, underutilized species, mackerel, observer program, right whales, aerial surveys, Marine Mammal Protection Act, climate change.
Patricia Gerrior describes her 40 year career with the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, now NOAA NMFS. During her career, she would work as a librarian at the BCF library; as a board agent in New Bedford; worked with promoting underutilized species; managed the observer program; and was the stranding coordinator. At the end of her career, she oversaw the aerial surveys and outreach to commercial shipping vessels in order to protect right whales in the shipping lanes from ship strikes.
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