Lillie Younkins is a student at Alaska Pacific University, where they have been pursuing their Masters in Environmental Sciences since the summer of 2025. In 2021 they earned their Bachelors of Sciences in Biological Sciences from UAA, where they focused on marine and fisheries science. Since then, Lillie has worked as a North Pacific Groundfish Observer in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. After that, they spent several seasons as a technician with the USFWS, monitoring salmon runs and conducting acoustic surveys in remote Alaska field camps along the Yukon River. They are now applying their fieldwork background to categorizing bottom trawl gear modifications and fishing practices to predict rockfish catch across different benthic terrains in the Gulf of Alaska. This work aims to further the Science/Industry Rockfish Research Collaboration in Alaska (SIRRCA) project’s goal to increase collaboration between commercial fishers and government organizations to manage rockfish stocks in state waters. From this work, they have developed a passion for underwater acoustics of all kinds. As a lifelong Alaskan who grew up around the Kenai Peninsula, Lillie spends most of their time on the water and is slowly reaching their goal of seeing every fish the state has to offer.