Michiel Dammers

During the final phase of my studies in Coastal and Marine Management, I decided that I wanted to graduate on a topic with fish. After a brief Google search, I found a page of what was then IMARES, with a call for an internship on growth differences in farmed North Sea sole. I was immediately enthusiastic, decided to respond and not much later I was involved in this research. After a pleasant and successful six months, I graduated.

After that period, I knew I wanted to work here, because everything revolves around the sea, fish, birds, mammals and fisheries. However, there was no job vacancy at the time, and there were no other opportunities for me to work. I took a year off, had some side jobs, visited a friend on the Azores, got my pre-Master's degree, volunteered on board the Tridens for the mackerel egg survey and spent a week on board of the fishing vessel PD147.

The experience on the fishing vessel turned my world upside down. Never before had I been at sea in a storm (wind force 8), never before had I seen and gutted so many fish, and I had never realised how tough the work of a fisherman can be. Despite the bad weather and the rough swell of the ship, I loved it. I couldn't have known back then that this experience would lead to my work as a fisheries researcher in 2014.

The work that I do at Wageningen Marine Research is very diverse. For example, one moment I can be on a vessel at sea, conducting fisheries research on board. At other times, I am busy coordinating the discards-self-sampling project (communication, planning, data entry, logistics, sorting out samples, etc.). Within this project, fishermen collect their own discard samples: this is the unwanted part of the catch that is not fit for consumption or does not meet the legal minimum size. The weekly contact with fishermen and the collection of these samples is part of my regular tasks, which I also really enjoy.

We also process the discard samples ourselves in IJmuiden and Yerseke. Our colleagues regularly tell us that it stinks in our building. 'Don't whine', I think, because once you are working with it, you hardly notice it. What I like best are rare sharks and rays, fish or benthos species that appear from time to time in the samples.

Many of my colleagues share my passion for the sea. This made me feel at home in the organisation from the start. Besides the discards project, I work on several projects with different tasks. Some projects only last a year and others last several years. As a result, my work is never boring. My colleagues help me out when I am busy, and I do the same for them. Thanks to my colleagues, I still enjoy my work.

And every now and then, work comes along where I get to fish with a fishing rod for research. What could be better than turning your hobby into your job?

• Back to 'Working at Wageningen Marine Research'