The 2009 class of nine NOAA's Fisheries Service/Sea Grant fellowships is the largest in the history of the program. Among the multi-year doctoral fellows, seven are studying population dynamics and two are studying marine resource economics.
“NOAA established this unique graduate fellowship program in 1999 to focus on changes in fish populations, what influences those changes, and what drives marine resource economics. Training and recruiting candidates in these highly specialized disciplines is important to NOAA's Fisheries Service and to the National Sea Grant Program,” said Leon Cammen, Director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program.
Population dynamics is the study of fish populations as affected by fishing mortality, growth, recruitment and natural mortality. Marine resource economics focuses on the valuation of fishery resources, fishers and policy choices.
Among those selected for population dynamics fellowships is Patrick Kilduff, University of California, Davis. Kilduff's major professor is Louis Botsford, and his NOAA Fisheries mentor is Steve Lindley, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, Calif. “Understanding the influence of a variable ocean environment on Chinook salmon.”
Ben Gilbert, University of California, San Diego, was selected for a marine resource economics fellowship. Gilbert's major professor is Theodore Groves, and his NOAA Fisheries mentor is Dale Squires, Southwest Fisheries Science Center, La Jolla, Calif. “The role of voluntary fishing cooperatives in the U.S. fisheries management: costs, benefits and economic efficiency.”
Read more about the fellowships here.