Postdoctoral Fellowship in Stock Assessment and Fisheries Oceanography 
Deadline for application May 1, 2009.

A postdoctoral fellowship is available in stock assessment and fisheries oceanography starting Sept. 1, 2009 (one-year, renewable) at the Pacific Biological Station, Nanaimo, British Columbia (Fisheries and Oceans Canada, DFO). The goal of the project is to forecast the distribution of Pacific hake using satellite-derived information on ocean conditions. The principle investigator is Dr. Carrie Holt (DFO), with co-investigators Dr. John Holmes (DFO, PBS), Dr. Bill Crawford (DFO, Institute of Ocean Sciences), Dr. André Punt (University of Washington), Dr. Melissa Haltuch (Northwest Fisheries Science Centre, NOAA), Ed Armstrong (Jet Propulsion Lab, NASA), and Ben Holt (Jet Propulsion Lab, NASA).

The distribution of Pacific hake is of special interest because it overlaps with that of overfished stocks (e.g., widow rockfish), thereby constraining harvest of hake in the United States. Although such constraints on harvest do not currently occur in Canada, efforts to avoid catch of depleted species (e.g., in protected areas) will likely continue to increase given Canada's commitments to maintain biodiversity. More broadly, improved methods for predicting fish distribution will assist ecosystem-level conservation initiatives by identifying areas of high biodiversity where large numbers of species co-occur.

The postdoctoral fellow will be responsible for compiling satellite-derived information on ocean conditions, developing candidate models for forecasting distribution (e.g., generalized linear models, general additive models), and assessing model skill. The fellow will have the opportunity to work with a dynamic, interdisciplinary team of experts, attend national level scientific meetings, and address an important challenge currently faced by Canadian and US fisheries. Experience with statistical modelling (e.g., GLMs, GAMs, and hierarchical models) and manipulating oceanographic data, especially satellite-derived data, would be an asset, but candidates with other, similar skill sets will be considered. A Ph.D. in fisheries, oceanography, biology, resource management, mathematics or statistics is required. Candidates should be able to communicate fluently (written and verbal) in English.

Please apply to Dr. Carrie Holt by email ([log in to unmask] <mailto:[log in to unmask]> ) with a cover letter describing your research interests and attachments containing your curriculum vita and up to three PDF reprints of your publications. We will request references from only those candidates that are short-listed. 


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Carrie Holt, Research Scientist
Pacific Biological Station
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
V9T 6N7
Phone: (250)756-7136
Fax: (250)756-7053
Email: [log in to unmask]