NMFS Establishes RTR Unit at Virginia Tech, Dr. Jim Berkson Unit Leader
Dr. Jim Berkson, known for his groundbreaking work with population dynamics in horseshoe crabs, has been appointed the acting Unit Leader for the new Recruiting, Training, and Research Unit (RTR) at Virginia Tech. In cooperation with the Sustainable Fisheries Division of the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech, the RTR will serve three principal functions:
1. To develop and implement a new recruiting program to identify top ranking undergraduate and graduate students in the southeastern United States and bring them to recruiting workshops where they will hopefully become enthusiastic about career opportunities in marine fisheries management, stock assessment, and NMFS.
2. To develop and implement continuing education and training courses for NMFS employees.
3. To conduct longer-term stock assessment research. NMFS would like to see the Unit tackle some of the research issues that their own personnel do not have time to take on.
Fisheries management agencies nationwide are having a difficult time recruiting stock assessment biologists. The need for stock assessment biologists is steadily increasing due to recent retirements of existing stock assessment biologists and a growing demand for stock assessments. There are not many students in natural resource programs interested in jobs which focus on quantitative skills.
In light of this, NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center is interested in developing a pipeline of talented students interested in quantitative work, and moving them from university natural resource programs into stock assessment jobs in the southeast region of NMFS. Once these talented candidates have been identified, their interest and experience in stock assessment, pairing them with NMFS researchers for internships and further graduate study, and finally, employing them at NMFS. The development of this pipeline should increase the candidate pool and identify talented individuals for future stock assessment positions.
The Southeast Fisheries Science Center’s workload is increasing at a faster pace than its staff. There are many long term research projects that have become a lower priority because of more pressing, current demands. The new RTR Unit, using the talent of faculty, graduate students, and NMFS employees, will be able to tackle some of these long-term research needs that are currently unassigned.
For more information, contact Dr. Jim Berkson at the NMFS-RTR Unit at Virginia Tech. His office number is 540-231-5910, and his e-mail address is .
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