Fisheries Science scholarships launched

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Fisheries Science scholarships launched

The Ministry of Fisheries and NIWA are jointly offering postgraduate scholarships for Masters or PhD students in the field of quantitative fisheries science.

“We want to hear from applicants with majors or minors in mathematics, statistics, biology, economics, computer science, or other quantitative fields,” Ministry of Fisheries Chief Scientist Pamela Mace said.

The scholarship programme will have a particular emphasis on stock assessment modelling, an area where there is a shortage of trained graduates in New Zealand and worldwide.

While the scholarships will be funded by the Ministry of Fisheries, NIWA will provide supervision and mentoring to the successful candidates.

Oliver Hannaford, the first person to be awarded one of these new scholarships, is currently well into an MSc in Statistics at the University of Auckland. Oliver is developing a stock assessment model for west coast snapper in order to improve management of this stock.

The number of scholarships awarded will depend on the suitability of applicants. Successful projects will be selected according to how well they fit with the Ministry of Fisheries’ goals.

Applications close 31 October 2007. Where possible, applicants should include a brief description of their quantitative experience and an outline of their proposal with any initial inquiries.

ENDS

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