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Applied Fisheries

A group of students holds out some beautiful farmed oysters while visiting Hump Island Oyster Company offshore from Ketchikan.
Skilled professionals in fisheries and marine science are in high demand to explore new ways of cultivating ocean species for food. The University of Alaska Southeast, Sitka Campus, has partnered with industry and regulatory agencies to develop programs that can meet this growing need for qualified personnel.

Study fisheries, aquaculture, scientific diving and more

If you’re a hands-on learner who’s deeply curious about marine ecology and natural resources, consider launching a career in fisheries with the Applied Fisheries Program at the University of Alaska Southeast! Our programs dive deep into disciplines like oceanography, fish biology, Alaskan fisheries management and mariculture. We offer distance-delivery courses that you complete at your own pace, and lab classes from our Sitka campus. We also host hands-on, semester-long intensive programs with dedicated cohorts in aquaculture and scientific diving

A student, left, operates an outboard engine with a mountainous background in Crescent Harbor with a skiff instructor, right.

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Sign up for classes

Go to University of Alaska Southeast website:

Join each Fall: Alaska Aquaculture Semester

Students work at the local Sheldon Jackson hatchery spawning chum salmon Women looking very cool at Hump Island Oyster Company OceansAlaska kelp spools

Unlock the potential of Alaska’s mariculture industry with the state’s only immersive, hands-on education in salmon enhancement aquaculture and aquatic farming! Learn biology, management, and harvesting methods for diverse species like oysters, mussels, scallops, clams and kelp. Apply now to join us:

Register for Alaska Aquaculture Semester Fall 2024

Hear about our take on mariculture in Alaska

Professor Bowers and aquaculture semester alumna Sara Ebersole describe our program in this local radio interview

Study fisheries at home or in the field.

We offer the majority of our coursework in an asynchronous distance format, with pre-recorded lectures available online. Professors guide the course with assignments and exams, and communicate with students by email, phone, and video call. Or, you can join us in Sitka for lab classes and semester intensives.

We host two cohorts in Sitka each year for intensive Applied Fisheries programs; in the fall, students learn mariculture farming techniques, and in the spring, students practice advanced research SCUBA diving. Dorm housing and apartment living is available in our town of 9,000. Our community is a stronghold in the state’s robust fisheries, and a gateway to the 17-million-acre Tongass National Forest.

Now that you’re getting to know Applied Fisheries, please peruse our courses and explore potential career paths using the menu options above. You can contact us with questions or visit admissions to register for your future in fisheries!

Students looks at young fish from a river research site.

Join each January: Alaska Dive Semester

Student group gets ready for a winter dive Underwater scuba diver!

If you are a student interested in fisheries, diving, and marine biology, and would like to complement your studies with a field-based program in Alaska, please join us for a semester of diving in the Spring of 2025. We will begin accepting applications for the 2025 cohort in the Summer of 2024.

You will have the opportunity to work with UAS faculty to become accomplished research divers. Over this semester, you will learn everything from basic dive skills to rescue procedures, underwater data collection techniques, and will become familiar with local fish and invertebrate species.  Additionally, you will develop skills in basic skiff handling and small engine maintenance techniques, critical to marine fieldwork.

Plan for the Alaska Dive Semester, January 2025