Case Study of an Aquacultural Marine Biologist

Marine Biologist Tone Rassmussen from Harstad manages her own company - Sea-Eco AS

Name

Tone Rassmussen

Title

Managing director

Individuals Company

SEA ECO AS, Harstad, Norway

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Educational background

• Secondary school, nature studies
• University of Tromsø The Norwegian College of Fishery Science
• Practical Pedagogical Education
• Leader training programme. (Post graduate)

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Did you go through any training while going to school that was beneficial

I worked as a laboratory assistant and field worker in marine biology.

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Do you have any recommendations for individuals currently studying

• Get as much work experience as possible in your area of interest
• Learn from those who work in the business
• Keep yourself updated in terms of research and development. The business is changing all the time.

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Does the career field have potential to expand in the future? Is the career field a good option for both students and professionals considering a career switch?

Yes and no. The sector is very sound, but also very dependent on global economic trends. There is a surplus of marine biologists in the global market. A lot of them have problems getting a job. To get a good job, you have to be very motivated. Considering the time it takes to become a marine biologist, it is especially important to be confident with the choice before starting the education. Being a marine biologist is very interesting and full of enjoyment.

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Tell us about a typical day in your job

My job is full of variation. I run my own marine biology consulting business, hence it is very much up to me what I am working with. To illustrate what I am doing, I will tell you what I did in the last three days:

Yesterday

I started the day visiting a shellfish farm where I took some samples of shellfish to analyse. I brought the samples to my office in town and prepared them for analysis. I began writing the report. 

The day before yesterday

I wrote a report about the occurence of larval shellfish at 10 sites in a fjord system. The customer was a shellfish farmer in that area.

Three days ago

I wrote several applications for financial funding for different development and research projects that I want to do.

As you can see my job is very varied. I also do a lot of travelling in my job.

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Can you explain your best experience in the profession ?

The work is always fun. I think children are fascinating. One day some children from the kindergarden visited me at work. I was working with research on the King Crab that day. One little girl asked me: "Why are the droppings from the crabs grey". Kids can ask the most commonplace questions. But if you take them seriously, they might lead to quite interesting findings. I had never thought about this, and it got me on a track that lead me to some very interesting answers connected to the digestion of feed in the crabs.

I think being a marine biologist is very interesting and I really enjoy working in this field.

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What are you reading or watching to stay abreast on industry/market changes, improvements, challenges, etc.?

I do a lot of reading. On the Internet I often visit Intrafish. I also order books and articles through the online library catalog of the universities, BIBSYS. On average I read between 60 and 70 scientific articles per month. The sources vary. I also read between ten and twenty technical books related to the field per month. I subscribe to several indexes, e.g. Green Ecology. Since I am engaged as a referee on scientific articles I must keep updated.

In my network I have a lot of people with practical experience. I keep in contact with these people when I can.

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Do you collaborate with other professionals in Europe or internationally?

Yes, I collaborate with colleagues in Denmark, Italy, Iraq, Iran, Canada and New Zealand.

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		See also
		Occupational profile of Marine Biologist
		Other careers