Fish Factor: UAF prepares next generation of fishery and ocean specialists

Alaska’s university system is ramping up programs to train the next generations of fishery and ocean specialists - and plenty of jobs await.

Since 1987, the College of Fisheries and Ocean Science (CFOS) at the University of Alaska Fairbanks has offered undergraduate and graduate degrees in Fisheries Science, complete with paid internships to help prepare them for positions in the state’s largest industry.

“It’s a degree path preparing students for what I call fish squeezers – they’re going to go to work for the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, or NOAA, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service or some...