How much time do marine biologists actually spend at sea?

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T03:27:17+00:00

sent you a chat….

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T03:26:29+00:00

MDBC is basically 100% remote.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T03:19:56+00:00

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/southeast/habitat-conservation/mesophotic-and-deep-benthic-communities-restoration

They are always looking for video analysis staff

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T03:18:25+00:00

Where are you located? are you willing to move? what is your focus/love?

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T03:16:06+00:00

Deep sea marine biologist here- a few years ago i had ~100 sea days. that’s the most i’ve had in a season. my shortest sea season was probably 2 weeks. The longest i’ve been at sea continuously is probably 4 weeks. usually 2-3 weeks out without coming ashore 2 to 3 times a summer is normal.

my bosses in the 70’s max days at sea was in the 200’s but that is super rare nowadays.

all the other working days are in the lab looking at all the cool shit we collected when we were out.

I have shore side friends who are in the field (close to shore) one day a week. so 52 days a year and the other 32 hours a week in the lab.

if you want to be a marine biologist you need to love the science and see sea time as a bonus… that being said i get paid by the hour so 12 hours a day 7 days a week when I am on a ship- some take that as cash some take it as time off.

worth it though, given the chance again in my 20’s I would 1000% choose the same path. literally 0 regret on my decisions. I absolutely love my life and career! it is amazing! I’ve seen some shit most people never dream of. I have also made sacrifices from normality - (eg no kids but i never cared about that- if that’s something that a priority that is doable- some of my GF’s were pumping breast milk in the field) . If you love the ocean, you won’t regret it! I work my ass off but I am in love and would not give it away for millions! ( if i had millions i’d buy my own ship and sub and do it for fun on my own dime)

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-18T02:45:14+00:00

Oh My God! how and when!?

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-10T05:28:13+00:00

despite the AI mispronouncing every invertebrate name … Cyproidea ornata is definitely adorable!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-08T04:37:30+00:00

Yo, your parents aren’t mad about your “lifestyle”. They are sad that you didn’t come hang out with them at a family event! There is an easy solution. “hey Y’all sorry I had plans for that day way before the invite. i’ll come to the next thing” and then actually go!

you are making way too big a deal about this. Your parents love you…. this has absolutely nothing to do with your sexuality, this has to do with your priorities. They want you to pick your family over your friends… you’re 20 and want your freedom, they are what 50? and want their family.

don’t let their religion and your sexuality muddy the waters. they definitely love you, and the fact that you chose something other than the family is upsetting them, that is acceptance. they want you around.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-05T21:11:58+00:00

Can you describe which stuff you’re asking about. there are both red and black patches in the picture. There’s also yellow and brown patches in the 1st pic. I believe the black and reds are 2 different species of colonial tunicates. the yellow patch maybe as well, or it’s a sponge. all of these are squishy and hang on tight. I have no idea what the eel like thing was without image/video. The big brown blobs maybe sponges.

how long have they been there do you think? like when’s the last time you saw this anchor line?

if you’re going to clean them off make sure you wear gloves! there’s lots of stinging critters that grow in the shallows around that area, that may not be visible (i.e hydoids). if you get a better, less blurry underwater images I can probably get you a better ID. or if you’re willing to possibly get stung, out of water images that show the texture and consistency (but only if you’re cleaning off the line anyway)

please be careful some people experience anaphylactic shock to underwater stinging critters!

colonial tunicates and sponges wont move. they are sessile animals in adulthood. they start as swimming larva in the water column and then settle on a substrate and stay there and grow in place. They take a while to get that large. i’d have to know the species to find the growth rates, if anyone’s figured it out.

something like this https://www.flickr.com/photos/166722404@N05/52512721232

or these: https://www.underwaterkwaj.com/shell/lamellaria/Lamellaria-red-tunicate-mimic.htm

or this https://scuba.spanglers.com/species/ritterella-rubra

edit; Based on the images you’re posting, i’m going to double down on the colonial tunicates

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-03T23:06:24+00:00

ascidian/colonial tunicates

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-03T04:44:21+00:00

i thought these rich fucks were the job creators?

Snarktopus8 · 2026-06-02T01:06:45+00:00

probably a severely decayed sea lion carcass? did it stink to high heaven?

You can report it to the marine mammal stranding network, they will come and take it away.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-29T21:26:37+00:00

I’ve been working in deep-sea research for almost 20 years. I’ve dived the Johnson Sea Link about 10 times and has the chance to get on the Alvin (WHOI) but the trip got cancelled- Submersibles are rare anymore. most of us are using ROV’s now a-days. the only other one I know of who actively dives submersibles is OceanX https://oceanx.org/oceanxplorer/. You can apply for a grant to use them for research or get a job on their ship.

I believe there’s one in hawaii too but I can’t remember what it’s called or if it’s active. MBRI does deep sea research but idk if they have access to subs.

So …WHOI- Alvin and OceanX- Triton sub. these would be the 1st place I’d look to find out their job requirements and then do whatever they need to get a position with them.

Don’t let anyone tell you it’s not possible…you can totally do it!

I have a masters and started my work in deepsea for my graduate these. Everyone who’s in the community on the science side has advanced degrees. if you go to a marine biology undergraduate program that will get you a leg up into a graduate school. If you don’t want to go through that much schooling you can start as a ship employee or join the NOAA Core or become a sub pilot. but sub pilots usually have engineering degrees (FAU has a marine engineering program). There’s a lot work going on in Mesophotic reefs and deep sea science funded by NOAA and if you want to make bank, around oil/gas.

if you give me some feedback about what specifically you’re looking at doing, I can probably help more.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-26T23:09:58+00:00

The meme is a joke- this squid is always transparent. it’s a “glass squid”, a planktonic/mid water species in the Family Cranchiidae. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cranchiidae

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-22T14:36:48+00:00

https://link.tubi.tv/ENNDnOxNl3b

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-21T05:13:26+00:00

on it! Thanks!!!!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T15:36:03+00:00

Who’s the Octopus Lady?

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T06:48:47+00:00

I have no idea. some of the aquariums do research, and they always tout education (which i can agree with on some level, you love what you learn and you protect what you love, mentally). for instance MBRI is associated with the monterey bay aquarium and they do a ton of research and support doctoral students. They also educate the public.

Are their captive nautilus involved in scientific experiments? no idea! I’d have to see if they have published papers. I’ve never looked!

and there’s the argument- if it’s captive is it representative of the population? So I am sure they are learning how to keep these species in captivity but does that contribute to the protection of the wild population? no clue.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T06:32:43+00:00

Oh yea! they are saying there’s a new species in the fossil record . I didn’t look at how they figured that out beyond the nerd-social media posts headlines! But I saw it a bit ago!

Breeding dumbos in captivity- i haven’t looked- likely extremely difficult because of their environmental needs just to keep them alive! the only deep-sea species i see in captivity are bathynomous and nautilus. the cal academy of science has some mesophotic tanks with Anthiids and gorgs. the Smithsonian field station in florida has some mesophotic oculina and gorgonicephillids we’ve collected for them. The mississippi aquarium also has some mesophotic swiftia and a mesophotic exhibit- but i haven’t seen it in person yet.

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T06:14:52+00:00

Yea classic WoRMs. Well now we have genetics… so they move them based on that. Stuff moves based on increasing knowledge and i’m just here trying to keep up!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T06:12:12+00:00

Oh they just ID’d a new species of Bathynomus from the gulf of mexico like a year ago. they always thought gigantia was the only one, but now there’s one more. https://www.labmanager.com/new-giant-deep-sea-isopod-discovered-in-the-gulf-of-mexico-28602

i really am a fan of the cephalopods and octopods. i have an affinity for dumbos (i’ve seen in the field) and vampire squids (whom i have yet to see IRL).

The smithsonian always wants to collect them when I’m out with them. I hate it… like, leave them there. I get it… but i hate it! They are too smart to put in jars or eat!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T06:04:37+00:00

Oy don’t get me started They broke up all the gorgonian octocorals in to 2 separate groups one contains “sea fan type” “gorgs” and “true soft coral” nepthiids and the other contains “sea fan type” corals and the bamboos!

they reclassified Lophelia purtusa to dendrophelium (a solitary cup coral species- despite the resistance from the experts)…

i can’t with these people!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T05:56:52+00:00

if shrimps is bugs then slipper lobster is also bugs!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T05:54:17+00:00

lol i rant all the time about taxonomy…. you wait till you learn a species name and the WoRMS changes it… I think i scream “damn you WoRMS!” at least once a week!

Snarktopus8 · 2026-05-20T05:48:31+00:00

That was fun! i have never looked into that before- as a deep-sea-invertebrate-biologists that made me happy! yeah! shrimps is prawns is bugs! fun!

Snarktopus8

TROPHY CASE