Fishing for Answers
As Maine struggles with the uncertainty of commercial fishing due to the depletion of stocks in the
Gulf of Maine, many are looking to Linda Pushee Mercer '69 for answers.
The director of the Bureau of Marine Sciences at the Maine Department of
Marine Resources, Mercer heads the department's research and science programs
that identify problems and find solutions to over-fishing of Maine's waters.
Her staff of 38 researchers and scientists (reduced from 50 due to budget cuts)
hope to keep commercial fishing viable in Maine.
"We are coming close to reaching the limit in terms of what can be fished and
what species are available," said Mercer, who filled the director's
position--vacant for three years--in January. "It's going to be a difficult
struggle for [everyone involved], with having to tighten restrictions on the
type of fish caught and cut back on the harvests . . . and yet [the fishermen]
realize the harvest is down and action needs to be taken."
Mercer says she began to figure out what she wanted to do with her life in
January of her senior year at Colby. A biology major, she interned at the
Smithsonian Institution for her final Jan Plan, working with an
ichthyologist--a fish specialist--dissecting tuna. Although she says that after
the internship she still was unsure about her career plans, she decided to
pursue marine sciences. A year after graduation she went to The College of
William & Mary's Virginia Institute of Marine Science, where she earned a
master's and eventually a doctorate.
After taking time off to raise a family--she and her husband, Jim Mercer, have
a son, Matt, and a daughter, Emily--Mercer went to the North Carolina Division
of Marine Fisheries, where she worked for 12 years as a biologist and later as
a research supervisor. Wishing to return to New England, she applied for and
landed the job with Maine's marine sciences department.
Mercer's Maine staff currently is analyzing the growth and health of the
herring population to manage the fishing of that species wisely. Her team of
workers also are researching sea urchins, and they hope to begin work on the
sea cucumber, both of which became popular catches as other Gulf of Maine
resources, like lobster, shrimp and cod, became depleted.
"I love the job. I guess it's kind of what you'd dream about doing," said
Mercer, who also recognizes the challenges and obstacles that lie ahead. "The
resources are not going to bounce back overnight. It's going to be a long
process."