University of Alaska Fairbanks Graduate Student Stipend for Stock Assessment Training and Improvement

(This program began under the Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research and continues under the Cooperative Institute for Alaska Research.)

The Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) provides support for training M.S. and Ph.D. students in quantitative fisheries sciences, including population dynamics, management and stock assessment. Students supported to date, through salary, tuition or travel support, include Dana Hanselman (Ph.D. 2004, Gulf of Alaska Pacific Ocean Perch: Stock Assessment, Survey Design, and Sampling); Kalei Shotwell (Ph.D. 2004, Utilizing Multi-source Abundance Estimation and Climate Variability to Forecast Pacific Salmon Populations); Ben Williams (M.S. 2004, Growth Dynamics of Juvenile Yellowfin Sole (Pleuronectes asper) and Northern Rock Sole (Lepidopsetta polyxystra) in the Eastern Bering Sea; Colin Schmitz (M.S., Bering Sea pollock tagging feasibility; left graduate school without completing thesis), John Moran (M.S. 2004, Evaluation of Covariates Affecting Harbor Seal (Phoca vitulina) Haulout Behavior Using Photographic Mark-Recapture), Sara Miller (M.S. 2007, Estimating Movement with a Spatially Explicit Stock Assessment Model of Eastern Bering Sea Walleye Pollock, Theragra chalcogramma; now continuing on for a Ph.D.); Peter-John Hulson (M.S. 2007, Analysis and Comparison of Pacific herring (Clupea pallasi) Age-Structured Assessment Models Employed in Prince William Sound and Sitka Sound, Alaska); Joshua Robins (M.S. 2007, Biophysical Factors Associated with the Marine Growth and Survival of Auke Creek, Alaska Coho Salmon); Cindy Tribuzio (Ph.D. in progress, shark abundance estimation); William Bechtol (Ph.D. in progress, marine fisheries population dynamics and modeling); Haixue Shen (Ph.D. in progress, analyzing hydroacoustic data of walleye pollock schools in the Eastern Bering Sea to examine changes in the dynamics of schools); and Xinxian Zhang (Ph.D. in progress, developing salmon escapement models).

This support is provided through CIFAR to Terrance Quinn II at the University of Alaska School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (SFOS).

A committee of AFSC and SFOS scientists evaluates graduate student applications. Up to three fellowships per year can be awarded; also "gap" funding is available to support students without other financial support to help them complete their research programs. AFSC has indicated its desire to continue funding this program, subject to the availability of funds. For information, contact the AFSC Scholarship Committee, Fisheries Division, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, 11120 Glacier Highway, Juneau, AK 99801-8677, e-mail: fisheries@uaf.edu.

In addition to this fellowship program, several graduate student thesis projects are supported by individual grants funded through CIFAR.