Matthew (Matt) W Dawson, BSc
I have been running boats and interested in commercial fisheries my whole life. Through various adventures, education, and work I am excited to be working with the Great Lakes Science Center on Lake Superior.
Through High School and my Bachelor of Marine Biology I worked on commercial fishing vessels and salmon farming in Scotland and New Zealand. On graduation I wanted to continue working at sea but as a scientist, so took a contract as groundfish observer in Alaska followed by 2 years as a fisheries technician with NMFS based in Kodiak, AK. From Kodiak my wife and I moved to North Carolina where I worked for the state Division of Marine Fisheries, initially as fisheries technician with the gill net observer program and then artificial reef program. After two years as technician I took a position as research vessel captain with the division for another two years. From the NC State DMF I took a position as captain of the then brand-new Research Vessel Shearwater for Duke University. After three and a half years in that role I joined USGS as ship operator with the Great Lakes Science Center.