Nyla Jones is a marine biologist in her early thirties who spends a considerable portion of her working life on Nova Scotia fishing vessels, collecting data on groundfish populations for government and university studies. This involves careful measurements, detailed records, and occasionally explaining that a fish being “a big bastard” is useful context but cannot go in that particular spreadsheet.
She likes the work, including the early starts, the salt air, and the running commentary from crews who have gradually accepted her as someone worth having aboard. She’s friendly, pulls her weight, and knows when to ask questions and when to get out of the way. Her waterproof notebook contains meticulous observations alongside things like “ask Dave about weird haddock” and a small drawing of a fish that looks suspiciously like Dave.
Nyla can talk comfortably with almost anyone. She remembers names, offers help without making a production of it, and has a laugh that carries remarkably well over an engine. She’s also competitive enough that an innocent dockside argument about who can throw a rope more accurately may delay everyone’s departure by fifteen minutes.
Off the water, she enjoys good food, live music, and dinners that stretch late because nobody wants to leave. She’s single and open to meeting someone, although her schedule can make dating complicated. “I’m away until Thursday, unless the weather changes” sounds evasive even when it is an entirely accurate description of her week. She appreciates someone who can cook, make her laugh, and listen to a fish story without immediately asking whether she’s allowed to eat the subject.
For all her sociability, Nyla treasures an evening alone. After several days aboard a busy vessel, she’s perfectly happy to shower, put on soft clothes, order something spicy, and ignore her phone while watching an unnecessarily elaborate baking competition. She develops fierce loyalties to contestants and offers advice from the sofa despite having once produced a birthday cake with a liquid centre, and not on purpose.
Nyla is enthusiastic about her work and curious about almost everything. She’ll happily explain what makes a particular fish interesting, especially if someone asks a sincere question. She has learned to keep the first explanation short. The second explanation depends on whether they make the mistake of asking a follow-up.
She hopes her research will help people make sound decisions about the waters she works on. In the meantime, she has samples to label, a crew to meet before dawn, and an ongoing dispute with a gull that has learned exactly when she unwraps her lunch.