On March 13, 2023, Joseph Smith interviewed William (Bill) Hettler for the NOAA Beaufort Lab Oral Histories project in Morehead City, North Carolina. Mr. Bill Hettler was born in Chicago and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He attended the University of Texas and received his Bachelor’s Degree in 1960. After graduation, he was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Navy and spent the next few years stationed in the western Pacific. Upon leaving active Service, Bill enrolled in the Master’s Degree Program at the University of Texas and received his degree in 1964. He was hired by the Beaufort Laboratory in 1964 and for his first few years worked for the Lab’s Menhaden Program handling fishery-dependent data for the gulf menhaden fishery. For a majority of his career, Bill was involved with spawning and rearing marine fishes, especially menhaden; several of his major publications focused on fish spawning methodologies and descriptions of fish eggs and larvae. Late in his career, Bill surveyed ichthyoplankton ingress and egress adjacent to several major North Carolina inlets. He retired from the Beaufort Laboratory in 1998. 

The interview delves into Hettler’s extensive career at the Beaufort Lab, beginning with his arrival in 1964. He reflects on his work under various supervisors, including his time as a port sampler and, later, as a lead researcher. Notably, Hettler discusses his pioneering efforts in the spawning and rearing of Atlantic and Gulf menhaden, describing the challenges and successes of these projects. He also touches on his involvement in ichthyoplankton sampling and his experiences as a certified scuba diver, contributing to several research projects, including the TEKTITE II project in the Virgin Islands. Hettler shares many anecdotes, including his adventurous cross-country drive to Beaufort, the early challenges of settling in a small coastal town, and his reflections on the changes in the Morehead City area over the decades. The interview concludes with Hettler expressing satisfaction with his career and contributions to marine science while also noting the personal and professional relationships he formed throughout his time at the Beaufort Lab.