Dr. Raymond Buckley
Job Title: University of Washington, College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences - Affiliate Assistant Professor.
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife, Fish Program, Marine Resources - Senior Research Scientist.
Aldabra Marine Programme, Seychelles Islands, Indian Ocean - Founding Member and Principal Investigator.
University of Cambridge, Department of Geography, Cambridge Coastal Research Unit - Associate Research Scientist.
Role in the Red Sea Project: Lead scientist for fish-census surveys to document fish species and populations.
Age: 65
Home: Olympia, Washington USA
Qualifications:
B.Sc. - Fisheries Science, University of Washington, College of Fisheries.
Graduate Research - University of Hawaii, Department of Zoology.
M.Sc. - Marine Sciences, University of Washington, College of Fisheries.
Ph.D. – Marine Ecology, University of Washington, College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences.
National Association of Underwater Instructors (NAUI) – Scuba Diver.
Professional Association of Diving Instructors (PADI) – Rescue Diver.
Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife – Research Diver.
Diver Alert Network (DAN) – Oxygen First Aid for Diving injuries.
Career Path:
My fascination with the marine environment began in the mid 1940’s playing at the seashore in Puget Sound, Washington. The marine life exposed by low tides gave hints about a world underwater that I could only imagine. I could not see it because fins and mask for skin diving were not available in local stores (the water was cold, only 50°F or 10°C), and scuba diving equipment was just being invented. I had many unanswered questions that fueled my curiosity about life underwater. This changed in the early 1950’s when “Under the Red Sea” by Hans Hass, “The Silent World”, by Jacques Cousteau, and “Skin Diver” magazine were published. I had to see these amazing underwater sights for myself, and my career path toward marine biology was set. In high school I sometimes skipped classes (with my mother’s permission) to go snorkeling in Puget Sound, enduring the cold water and using fins and mask mail-ordered from California. In 1957 I finally got a wet suit. I was fascinated by everything I saw underwater and knew that this would be my life’s work.
A holiday in Hawaii in 1960 focused my “dream career” in marine biology on coral reef fish research. My B.Sc. degree from the University of Washington (UW) in 1963 was my first formal marine science education. After a year of graduate research at the University of Hawaii, I began work as a research biologist for the Washington Department of Fisheries (WDF) in 1965. My college education paused with a M.Sc. degree from UW in 1969. Whenever possible I satisfied my need for tropical waters with extra research projects in Hawaii and Florida. On government service leave from WDF in 1985-1986 I was Chief Fishery Biologist in American Samoa. I had reached “nirvana” with a job “requiring” diving throughout the tropical Pacific waters from Micronesia south to the Cook Islands. I returned to WDF as a research scientist and completed a Ph.D. degree at UW in 1997. I currently conduct research on marine fishes in Puget Sound to determine the success of Marine Protected Areas. I am also affiliate faculty at UW guiding graduate student research. In my “tropical world”, I joined colleagues from the UK and Spain and started the Aldabra Marine Programme in 1999 to study the recovery of coral reefs at Aldabra Atoll and other Seychelles Islands following the coral bleaching event in 1998.
I started scientific research diving in 1965, and 41 diving-years later I still regularly “blow bubbles underwater for science”. I have in excess of 2,550 dives for scientific research in marine waters of Washington, California, Florida, Alaska, throughout the central and south Pacific Oceans, the Caribbean, and the Indian Ocean, BUT the Farasan Islands project is my first diving adventure in the Red Sea. My career path in marine science started with reading “Under the Red Sea” by Hans Hass, and now one of my dreams is coming true.
Interests/Hobbies:
My main interest is having fun with Marta, my wife and marine biologist colleague and diver, and Adriana, our 8 year-old daughter. Marta and I work together on research projects, and we are excitedly introducing the fascinating world of marine science to Adriana. Our family activities include beach walks, swimming, cycling, hiking in the mountains, cross-country skiing, show shoeing, canoeing, and reading together. I am dedicated to teaching marine science to students from elementary school to college. I am skilled at saltwater fishing and enjoy providing fresh fish to during research expeditions. I love being on and under the seas of the world.
