Student Volunteer Opportunities

Sustainable Fisheries Division:  Support Fishery Management Specialists on tasks and projects

Potential areas of interest: commercial and recreational fisheries management, fisheries policy, education and outreach, and website support.

Target education level:  High School, can be expanded for a college student if need be. 

Time requirement: Projects would be smaller in nature and are scalable; some could be completed in weeks and others across months.  Work could be intermittent.

Description: Sustainable Fisheries has several Fishery Management Specialists that are responsible for supporting fisheries management actions and rulemakings, developing and updating outreach documents (e.g., information sheets, bulletins), and updating information on our website.  Given the many annual and inseason changes to the fisheries themselves, our outreach documents and website are in a constant state of flux and sometimes can be outdated.  The Fishery Management Specialists in the division are seeking support from an intern(s) to create uniform outreach materials and finalize updates to our websites, assist in developing new outreach materials for emerging issues, and to develop a “how to” for the public to get involved in the Council process.  An intern would get to work on multiple fisheries (recreational and commercial) and interact with other divisions in the GARFO to complete the various projects.  The projects would expose the intern(s) to a diverse set of challenges, such as learning new computer software to developing outreach skills, without needing to have an extensive background in fisheries. 

Sustainable Fisheries Division:    Evaluating compliance trends and data validity for American high seas fishing operations in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area

Potential areas of interest:  Marine policy, marine biology, natural resource management, statistical analysis, international relations

Target education level:  College undergraduate or graduate level candidates are sought, with knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Excel or other database and analytical programs and Geographic Information System (GIS) software preferred.

Time requirement for this project?  1-2 months of full time work, potentially more, pending skill level and interest of candidate

Brief description:  Several tasks are proposed as part of this overall project.  First, the candidate would analyze available catch and satellite vessel positioning data to assess U.S. vessel compliance with management measures specified by the NAFO such as catch limits and move-on rules in the case of excessive bycatch.  Second, the candidate would compare data sources (daily vessel monitoring system catch reports, vessel logbooks, observer reports, and dealer reports) to evaluate their utility and identify limitations that may compromise their applicability for ongoing scientific and management program evaluations.  This effort will feed into work being conducted by NAFO to streamline and improve existing data collections and maximize the utility and accuracy of available data for scientific and management purposes.  Third, the candidate would help identify patterns useful to evaluating trends in fishing activity, such as the timing and frequency of catch and discards of certain species.  If time permits, the candidate could also attempt to quantify the benefits of such operations to the nation by tracking post-dealer sales, prices, and affiliated employment.  The potential exists for a successful candidate to develop tools and data products useful to the National Marine Fisheries Service and NAFO for monitoring fishing activity in the future.  Depending on availability, the candidate may be able to participate during internal meetings of the U.S. NAFO delegation.

Habitat Conservation Division:  Habitat Conservation Division Topic Papers

Potential areas of interest:  wetlands, submerged aquatic vegetation, anadromous fish, marine biology, chemistry. 

Target Education Level:  College, Graduate School.  Opportunities for several students.

Time requirement for this project:  Flexible.  Likely a summer project, but could extend into fall/winter.  There is no time limit for completion.  Hours are flexible.  

Brief description: In this project, the student will research and prepare topic papers synthesizing available information on topics of concern to Habitat Conservation Division biologists including, but not limited to:

• thin layer placement of dredging material on wetlands
• the effects of wetland sediment contamination on fish
• submerged aquatic vegetation mitigation
• effects of electromagnetic field from subsea power cables on fish and benthos
• effects of sand mining​ and shoreline placement (beach nourishment)
• benthic recovery times following dredging
• sound and pressure wave impacts on fish and benthos
• sedimentation/turbidity effects on fish, shellfish and benthos
• effectiveness of bubble curtains, environmental buckets (mechanical dredging), turbidity curtains, soft-start pile driving, etc. and other BMPs often recommended to reduce impacts
• assessment of oyster reefs (natural vs. created) as fisheries habitat
• ecological benefits to living shorelines
• habitat utilization of bulkheads vs. stone revetments vs. living shoreline

Habitat Restoration, Stakeholder Engagement; Millbrook Meadow Watershed Student Stewardship

Mentor:  Eric Hutchins, Colleen Coogan

Potential areas of interest: natural resource management, marine stewardship, biology, history, civics, fishery biology, field sampling.

Target Education Level: High School, targeting Rockport

Brief Description: The purpose of this internship is to engage a Rockport Highschool student in an environmental review of a coastal habitat restoration project in Millbrook Meadow and the Millbrook watershed, in Rockport Massachusetts.  The student will research the history of human use and impacts on the meadow and brook, with the American eel as a focal animal.   The student will conduct elver and eel sampling in the watershed as part of a longterm relative abundance study.  The student will be expected to work with the Millbrook Meadow Committee, and a NOAA restoration biologist to monitor the Town of Rockport's Millbrook Meadow Restoration Project .  Public presentation of comments at town meetings, with guidance from NOAA restoration staff as appropriate, may be requested.  Participation in public outreach events highlighting the natural resources and the meadow may be requested. 

Protected Resources Division:  Sturgeon, Salmon, & Proactive Conservation Videos

Potential areas of interest: Communications, film-making, media literacy, education, anadromous fish, endangered species, fish biology

Target Education Level:  All levels could be accommodated.

Time Requirement for this Project: Approximately 160 hours per video depending on experience, but schedule is flexible. Student can decide how many videos they would like to make. 

Brief Description: The project would consist of researching fish species in our region that are listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and as Species of Concern, to create 'infomercials' that highlight these species in the most interesting way possible.  The student would put together the most interesting facts about each species into a short video clip which could include pictures, video, slides, etc., and these would be posted on our NMFS websites and
Facebook site (for sturgeon videos). The student would start by editing a draft video that has already been put together for Atlantic sturgeon, and would then continue creating videos for other species (i.e. shortnose sturgeon, Atlantic salmon, river herring, etc.). Experience and interest in film making/editing is a must.

Protected Resources Division: Storytelling: A Knight’s Tail – Tale of Two Fishes

Potential areas of interest: Writing, art, education, anadromous fish, endangered species, fishery biology

Target Education Level:  Approximately 80 hours depending on experience, but schedule is flexible.

Time Requirement for this Project: Whenever is convenient for the student. Good for a student who has a very limited amount of time to volunteer.

Mentors: Sarah Walsh Laporte, Edith Carson

Brief Description: The project would consist of researching information about Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon, and developing and illustrating a children’s fictional story featuring our mascots Scooter (the Atlantic sturgeon) and Barb (the shortnose sturgeon).  The story is set during medieval times and describes how Sir Scooter uses his “armor” of bony scales, called scutes, to ward off different predators while trying to reach the river to meet his love, Lady Barb.  Once the story is finished, the student will then visit their current or former school to read the story to the younger students.

Information Resources Management (IRM):   Web developer

Potential areas of interest:  Information Technology, website design

Target Education Level:  High School or college, targeting any local school within a 30 mile radius of the regional office.

Description of work:  The purpose of this project is to develop several relatively simple public web pages which will allow fishing industry users to submit and review data related to their fishing activities.   Candidates need to have skills with PHP and HTML.  They’ll be working onsite, under the guidance of one of GARFO’s web developers, and doing development within an established web framework.  They’ll also be working with a GARFO communications specialist who will help design these pages.

Time required for this project:  Ideally, the project needs a minimum of 3 days work per week in order to make meaningful progress on this growing need.   Three months would suffice.  Additional web development work to support an education grant page may be available to extend this opportunity.

Sustainable Fisheries Division:    Evaluating compliance trends and data validity for American high seas fishing operations in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Regulatory Area

Potential areas of interest:  Marine policy, marine biology, natural resource management, statistical analysis, international relations

Target education level:  College undergraduate or graduate level candidates are sought, with knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Excel or other database and analytical programs and Geographic Information System (GIS) software preferred.

Time requirement for this project?  1-2 months of full time work, potentially more, pending skill level and interest of candidate

Brief description:  Several tasks are proposed as part of this overall project.  First, the candidate would analyze available catch and satellite vessel positioning data to assess U.S. vessel compliance with management measures specified by the NAFO such as catch limits and move-on rules in the case of excessive bycatch.  Second, the candidate would compare data sources (daily vessel monitoring system catch reports, vessel logbooks, observer reports, and dealer reports) to evaluate their utility and identify limitations that may compromise their applicability for ongoing scientific and management program evaluations.  This effort will feed into work being conducted by NAFO to streamline and improve existing data collections and maximize the utility and accuracy of available data for scientific and management purposes.  Third, the candidate would help identify patterns useful to evaluating trends in fishing activity, such as the timing and frequency of catch and discards of certain species.  If time permits, the candidate could also attempt to quantify the benefits of such operations to the nation by tracking post-dealer sales, prices, and affiliated employment.  The potential exists for a successful candidate to develop tools and data products useful to the National Marine Fisheries Service and NAFO for monitoring fishing activity in the future.  Depending on availability, the candidate may be able to participate during internal meetings of the U.S. NAFO delegation.