Monthly Archives: November 2011

Graduate Fellowships available in Population Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics

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The Oregon Sea Grant College Program is seeking applications for two fellowship opportunities available to graduate students through the 2012 National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)–Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship Programs in Population Dynamics and Marine Resource Economics.

These are national competitions, and applicants should contact the Sea Grant program in their state (or closest to them). See www.seagrant.noaa.gov/colleges for locations of Sea Grant programs and contact information. Oregon applicants may apply through the Oregon Sea Grant Program in Corvallis.

The award for each fellowship is contingent upon the availability of federal funds and will be in the form of a grant or cooperative agreement of $38,500 per year.

Formal announcements of the fellowships have been published in the Federal Register and the complete Federal Funding Opportunity can be accessed through the links provided on the Oregon Sea Grant website.

National Marine Fisheries Service–Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship Program in Population Dynamics
The Graduate Fellowship Program awards at least two new Ph.D. fellowships each year to students who are interested in careers related to the population dynamics of living marine resources and the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing their status. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to NMFS under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Laboratories.

* Applications are due 5 p.m. PST, January 20, 2012

National Marine Fisheries Service–Sea Grant Joint Graduate Fellowship Program in Marine Resource Economics
The Graduate Fellowship Program generally awards two new Ph.D. fellowships each year to students who are interested in careers related to the development and implementation of quantitative methods for assessing the economics of the conservation and management of living marine resources. Fellows will work on thesis problems of public interest and relevance to NMFS under the guidance of NMFS mentors at participating NMFS Science Centers or Laboratories.

* Applications are due 5 p.m. PST, January 20, 2012

If you wish to apply through Oregon Sea Grant, please contact Sarah Kolesar (sarah.kolesar@oregonstate.edu, 541-737-8695) or Eric Dickey (eric.dickey@oregonstate.edu, 541-737-2715) for more information.

OSU merges ocean, geoscience programs to create new Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences college

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CORVALLIS – A new College of Earth, Ocean and Atmospheric Sciences has been formed with the merger of Oregon State University’s College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences and Department of Geosciences.

The new college, dubbed CEOAS, will focus on the basic sciences of the Earth system. “The new name captures both the existing strengths of Geo and COAS and opens the door for new programs in research and education regarding our home planet,” wrote Rebecca Warner, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, in an email formally announcing the merger to the campus community on Friday.

CEOAS will house OSU undergraduate programs in Earth Science, Geography, Geology, and Environmental Sciences, as well as a new BS in Earth Sciences  with options in Earth Systems, Geology, and Geography, replacing the existing degrees in Earth Science, Geology and Geography.

Remaining unchanged are graduate programs in oceanic, earth and atmospheric sciences, geology, geography, and Marine Resource Management, as well as bachelor’s degree programs in environmental sciences.

Several Oregon Sea Grant faculty are affiliated with oceanic and atmospheric sciences, and Extension Sea Grant  Community Outreach specialist Flaxen Conway was recently named director of the Marine Resource Management program.

Summer Scholars’ Experiences Profiled

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This summer a group of nine recent graduates and undergraduate students  participated in the Oregon Sea Grant Scholars Program. The program provides student fellows with a meaningful opportunity to work side-by-side with mentors who are marine scientists, policy makers, and resource managers. One mentor, Steve Rumrill (South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve), highlighted all the students and their experiences in the September newsletter of the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). Read: CERF_SEPT_11_OSG_Summer_Scholars

New HMSC exhibit highlights gear retrieval success

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New gear retrieval exhibit at HMSCNEWPORT – A new exhibit at the HMSC Visitor Center showcases the success of a two-year federal/state/industry partnership that employed fishermen to retrieve thousands of lost or abandoned crab pots off the Oregon coast.

Derelict Crab Gear Recovery: Oregon Fishing Industry Partnerships chronicles the outcomes of the partnership, which included a two-year, $690,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and involved commercial fishermen, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Oregon Sea Grant,  among others.

Fishermen involved in the project hauled in more than 3,000 lost crab pots, nearly all of which were returned to their owners for repair and re-use.

Lost fishing gear is an international problem; nets; lines, traps and other gear left in the ocean can foul ships, endanger wildlife and  disrupt seafloor habitats.

The Oregon effort grew out of a 2006 pilot conceived by the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee. Sea Grant helped the group win a modest proof-of-concept grant from NOAA, and monitored initial retrieval cruises to determine their success and check the recovered gear for dead or trapped marine life.

The broader project, launched in 2009, not only recovered tons of lost gear, but also advanced the understanding of the impact of derelict gear on marine resources. The new HMSC display includes a video documentary about the project intended to promote visitor awareness and stewardship of marine resources.

Read more about the gear retrieval project