Hailing from Liege, Belgium, Oleg Martens speaks English and French fluently and is competent in both Spanish and German. As to how he got from Belgium to the United States, that was simple: “I wanted to do Marine Biology, and I didn't want to dive in the North Sea!” A guidance counselor at an American school in Brussels helped him to narrow his college choices and secure a tennis scholarship that made it possible for him to attend college in the U.S.

Hailing from Liege, Belgium, Oleg Martens speaks English and French fluently and is competent in both Spanish and German. As to how he got from Belgium to the United States, that was simple: “I wanted to do Marine Biology, and I didn't want to dive in the North Sea!” A guidance counselor at an American school in Brussels helped him to narrow his college choices and secure a tennis scholarship that made it possible for him to attend college in the U.S.

Tennis has continued to play a role in Oleg's education. His 2003 internship with the Ocean Conservancy in St. Petersburg was a volunteer position, but he was able to teach at a tennis camp to cover living expenses. During the internship, he reviewed U.S. fishery management plans for the Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean regions to ensure that they were in line with national regulations.

Oleg's love of the water has taken him from St. Petersburg through Durham to Beaufort where he is studying at the Duke Marine Lab and serving as an R.A. for the undergraduates who spend a semester there. He was also an R.A. in Durham during his first year at the Nicholas School.

Update 2003 -

Life at the Marine Lab agrees with Oleg: “It is much sunnier down here, and we also get to be closer to our professors since class sizes rarely exceed 10 students. The professors at Duke are very open to receiving you in their office, and that's a great asset for the program.” Another plus to the Marine Lab: “The dining hall prepares great food and the staff is really friendly.”

His Master’s Project is an extension of the work he did for The Ocean Conservancy. He is analyzing why tropical coastal fisheries (TCFs) in the U.S. Caribbean are difficult to manage under the Magnuson/Stevens Fishery Conservation Management Act. The Act was designed for commercial fisheries like those in New England that focus on one species of fish and use one type of gear, whereas TCFs are much more complex. For example, Oleg says, in the Caribbean, “A fisherman might set out a net, trap pots, use a spear gun, etc. on any given day or rotate between these gears throughout the year. He will catch and keep all marketable species. Also, fisheries in the Caribbean are generally composed of many individuals going out to fish in small boats as opposed to a few people going out on a couple of big commercial boats, like in New England.”

Explaining the problem is relatively easy, he says; finding solutions will be more difficult. “I don’t want my thesis to stay on the shelf,” he says. “I want it to be useful. I want people to read it.”

While in Durham for his first year, Oleg fulfilled the requirements for a Certificate in Sustainable Development offered by the Terry Sanford Institute for Public Policy’s Program in International Development Policy. That certificate, along with his MEM in Coastal Environmental Management, will allow him to pursue his interest in a career in international sustainable development, focusing on the marine environment. He hopes to work in Latin America, Africa, or Asia for the World Bank or a similar organization, helping coastal communities develop and manage their fisheries for constant yield over time.

Update 2005 -

Oleg returned to Florida after graduation to work for the Tampa Bay office of Marine Resource Assessment Group (MRAG), a London-based consulting firm. He has been managing a socioeconomic survey of shrimp fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico and is project manager for a similar project in the South Atlantic. Sponsored by NOAA-Fisheries, the survey project is the first federal effort to collect financial and social information on shrimp fishermen in the United States. The latter are not faring well, says Oleg, because of international competition and rising fuel prices. In order to justify future management measures to aid shrimpers and to respect the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act, the federal government needs to collect updated economic data.
The goal of these projects is to survey shrimp fishermen who have been active in the past five years and demonstrate how their financial/social situation has evolved over time. Some of Oleg's duties include meeting with fishermen and their representatives to encourage participation in the project, training interviewers to conduct the surveys, and overall management of operations. The surveys will be performed every two years and group results will be published in a federal report by Dr. Mike Travis (NOAA Fisheries, South East Regional Office).

Hindsight -

“There is a social factor to this kind of work,” Oleg says. “You have to be able to connect with the people who will be affected by your work. You cannot do that from behind a desk.” He believes that current and future students should take every opportunity possible to get out into the field and talk to the real people involved in the industry they will be working with.
Additionally, Oleg suggests that students give careful thought to the internships they choose, because “your internship is most likely going to turn into a job, much like in Law School.”

To view the video, choose from the formats listed after each caption:

1. Oleg says that the Nicholas School attracts students from diverse backgrounds and introduces them to the field’s top thinkers.
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2. Oleg explains how coastal students can maximize the Durham/Beaufort experience.
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3. He stresses the value of networking and the Career Services office.
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4. He says that life in Durham offers plenty of opportunities to get outside.
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5. Oleg talks about the wealth of social and cultural activities that take place on the Duke campus.
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6. He describes how he fits in work, classes, and a personal life.
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