Today we talk to Phil Heemstra, Principal Ichthyologist at the South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity about his job. In the Coelacanth Programme, he is working with Hans Fricke on coelacanth biology and behaviour, and he is also involved in research into the other fishes in the coelacanth's habitat.

What do you enjoy about your work?
It is fascinating: - learning something new every day.
It is challenging:
- To understand (make sense) of the wonderful marine fish diversity of this part of the world.
- To see the awesome beauty and unravel (comprehend) a small bit of the complexity of the undersea world.
It is rewarding: to construct some part of the foundation on which our knowledge of the natural world is based.

Phil dissecting a specimen of Zu cristatus, the scalloped ribbonfish. Photo by Elsabe van Tonder.

What makes it interesting?

To see and understand the multitude of animals and the multitude of ways that they cope with the challenges that they face in their world. This is the joy of being a biologist: to have a job that you like (find interesting) and that you can never finish.

When did you decide to become a scientist in this field?

1964.

What's the most exciting thing about your job?

Seeing new fishes, or seeing fishes do new things that I've never seen them do before. Solving problems. Making connections. Reciprocal illumination.

How should I proceed to get into that discipline (school subjects)?

Zoology, biology, chemistry, introductory physics, mathematics, SCUBA training.

What sort of person would you look for to employ in your current position?

Someone obsessed with fishes. Someone willing to spend many hours on routine, boring tasks (counting fin rays, weighing fish, measuring fish, etc) to generate useful data to answer a question.

Phil in the collection with another member of staff. Photo by Elsabe van Tonder.

What sort of pay could such a person expect? Any job perks?

We can hope (not expect) to earn a living wage. Biologists are notoriously under-paid, but we knew that we would not be getting rich when we chose this profession. As a biologist, you will be paid (at least for a while) to do something you like for much of your time. Being an ichthyologist is a good excuse for fishing and SCUBA diving.

Why would you encourage people to join that discipline?

If you like studying fishes, it is great to have an employer who understands the importance of this work and who will pay you to do this.