Addressing the Shortage of Stock Assessment Scientists through Undergraduate Workshops

Abstract

AbstractA recent Congressional report identified a shortage of scientists entering the discipline of stock assessment. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center of NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service and Virginia Tech created the Population Dynamics Recruiting Program (PDRP) to improve the quality of graduate students interested in entering the field. An annual week‐long workshop identifies top students nationally with the potential to excel in population dynamics and educates them about the discipline. Program evaluation indicates that between 25% and 33% of workshop participants have subsequently entered graduate school in the field. Sixty‐nine percent of those students knew little about the field before the workshop, and 85% reported wanting to pursue population dynamics because of their workshop experience. Continuing and strengthening the PDRP is an important component of a strategy to reduce the shortage of qualified stock assessment scientists.