Dear Sea Grant Stakeholders,   

Sea Grant experts from around the Nation appear regularly in the news media discussing issues ranging from hurricane preparedness to seafood safety trainings. But recently, a California Sea Grant fellow made national news. Sea Grant-NOAA Fisheries fellow Taylor Chapple, a graduate student at the University of California, Davis, discovered that fewer great white sharks reside in the northeast Pacific Ocean than previously thought. The study, published in the journal Biology Letters, is the first rigorous scientific estimate of white shark numbers in the northeast Pacific Ocean, and represents one of the best estimates among the world's three known white-shark populations.  

Chapple's work, in addition to its significant contribution to the body of knowledge about this elusive species, speaks to the value of Sea Grant fellowships (and the many other opportunities we provide to students). The Sea Grant-NOAA Fisheries Graduate Fellowship Program was designed to train and recruit graduate students in two highly specialized disciplines: population dynamics (the study of fish populations as affected by fishing mortality, growth, recruitment and natural mortality) and marine resource economics (the valuation of fishery resources, fishers and policy choices). In addition to providing students with real-world experience, accelerating their career development and increasing the available expertise in these fields, the fellowship is helping NOAA build a future workforce that is skilled in science and other disciplines critical to the Agency's mission. Now in its 12th year, this and the Sea Grant Knauss Fellowship program have introduced scores of bright, talented researchers and policy specialists into the workforce.    

A recent survey of NOAA's employees revealed that 22% of the 1,500 respondents had received training through Sea Grant in the form of fellowships, internships or research positions. In addition, 94% of NOAA Sea Grant alumni said Sea Grant training or support positively influenced their professional development and achievements, and 82% claimed that their Sea Grant experience helped them get their NOAA job. Learn more about how Sea Grant is training our marine, coastal and Great Lakes scientists.  

Regards,

Leon M. Cammen,

Director, National Sea Grant College Program

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration