Get your feet wet and your hands dirty as we explore one of Alaska’s greatest natural resources!

Alaska is home to some of the greatest fisheries in the world.  In this module, we will explore, firsthand, the freshwater fishes of Alaska and the habitats that allow their great abundance.  The majority of the course will consist of field trips, including a multi-day camping trip in Interior Alaska and shorter day trips to a small stream, a lake and a fish hatchery.  During these outings, students will learn various sampling methods for fishes and their freshwater habitats.  After collecting specimens during these trips, students will spend time in a UAF fisheries laboratory getting their hands slimy while studying several aspects of fish biology, such as anatomy, diet and age.             

NOTE: The School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences is offering financial support to make this module possible. There is an additional $50 fee for this remote module, and older students will be given preference.
 

Andy Seitz, Ph.D.

Fisheries Instructor, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks

If there is a fish to be caught and studied, Andy has probably done it.  Growing up in Maine near a small stream, he developed an interest in aquatic habitats and fish.  He pursued this interest at Cornell University, graduating with a Bachelors of Science degree in Biology.  Shortly after this, he lived in Venezuela for several months and studied freshwater tropical fish diversity in streams and rivers.  Upon returning to the United States, he moved to California and studied large marine fishes as a Research Aquarist at the Monterey Bay Aquarium.  Andy moved to Alaska in 2002, at which time he started his graduate studies in Fisheries Oceanography, studying Pacific halibut.  After completing his PhD in 2006, Andy has conducted fisheries research and instructed fisheries courses at UAF, including Introduction to Fisheries, Fishes of Alaska, Fisheries Management, and Fish Biology.

Trent Sutton, Ph.D

Fisheries Professor, School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, University of Alaska Fairbanks

After spending his formative years on the beach of Lake Michigan, it was a natural that Trent developed an interest in fisheries.  Trent grew up in southwestern Michigan and received his Bachelor of Science degree in Fisheries from Michigan State University.  He then immediately went to Michigan Tech in the Upper Peninsula, where he completed his master’s degree research on sea lamprey and northern brook lamprey ecology.  Trent then moved to Virginia where he conducted research for his Ph.D. on a trophy striped bass fishery at Virginia Tech.  Since then, he has been a faculty member at Lake Superior State University (Michigan) and Purdue University (Indiana), and is now a fisheries professor at UAF.  Although he now conducts research primarily on whitefishes and salmon, he has worked on fishes as small as 2” long mosquitofish and as large as 6’ long lake sturgeon.  In addition to these interests, Trent also teaches Fisheries Techniques and Fisheries Management and serves as the coordinator of the undergraduate fisheries program at UAF.