Dave Clausen retired from the Center with 34 years of federal service. Dave began working with Auke Bay Labs’ Marine Fish Investigations Program (currently Marine Ecology & Stock Assessment ) in 1978. He was one of ABL’s most field-experienced biologists, having spent countless days on the high-seas as a chief scientist on various projects. Early in his career he was the U.S. representative aboard a Korean research vessel conducting a 30-day survey between Hawaii and Japan focusing on neon flying squid. In 1982, Dave was one of the first U.S. scientists to participate in the Japan – U.S. Cooperative Longline Survey, which eventually evolved into the Domestic Longline Survey – one of the longest running surveys conducted by the Center. Ironically, Dave’s final field trip was aboard the 2012 longline survey, 30 years after his first trip.
Dave’s retirement brings a huge loss of corporate memory. Dave’s biological expertise and his talents as a mentor, writer, and organizer of field research and lab social events will be truly missed. His knowledge of life history, feeding habits, and ecology of a wide range of groundfish species, from grenadiers to rockfish and sablefish, was exemplified by more than 30 peer-reviewed articles he authored. His technical expertise with the deployment and configuration of longline and trawl gear contributed to the success of a large number of research projects. His ability to organize diverse groups of scientists was highlighted by his chairmanship of the Technical Subcommittee of the Canada-U.S. Groundfish Committee.
Dave was a leader also of ABL social events, such as the annual holiday eggnog gathering where his subtle but infectious sense of humor was always a highlight of the festivities. For these gatherings, Dave made sure the entire ABL family celebrated together by personally inviting retirees through phone calls.
We wish Dave the best in retirement. His travels will surely take him to exotic places where he can don his snorkel gear and populate his Flickr page.
