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This fellowship was created by AFS in 2007 to honor the memory of Steven Berkeley, a dedicated fisheries scientist with a passionate interest in integrating the fields of marine ecology, conservation biology, and fisheries science to improve fisheries management.  Berkeley was a long-time member of AFS and a member of the first Board of Directors of the Fisheries Conservation Foundation. The fellowship comprises a competitively based $10,000 award to a graduate student actively engaged in thesis research relevant to marine conservation.  Research topics may address any aspect of conservation; a focus on fisheries issues is not required. 

Requirements for application:

1.  The applicant must be a student officially accepted or currently enrolled in a M.S. or Ph.D. program.
2.  The student must be actively engaged in thesis research related to some aspect of marine conservation; the intent of the award is to support ongoing research costs.
3.  The student must be a member of AFS in good standing; membership can be obtained at the time of application submission.

Application package:

1.  Cover letter
2.  Resume, including the following:
    Educational history: degrees, relevant courses completed, grade point averages
    Professional experience: positions held with description of responsibilities, including any volunteer activities
    Publications: including ‘gray literature’ contributions
    Presentations: including oral presentations, posters, and those presented by co-authors (as acknowledged)
    Transcripts (unofficial) of undergraduate and graduate coursework should be attached.
3.  Research proposal, limited to 4 pages (excluding title page, abstract, references, tables and figures), single spaced, 11 pt font or higher.  Proposals should be organized in the following format:
    Title page and abstract: including research area, all contact information, and advisor’s name and affiliation, abstract of 300 words or less outlining major objectives and rationale of research program
    Introduction: providing a clear background of need for the research project and justification, any specific hypotheses or objectives
    Methods
    Preliminary or anticipated results
    Significance of research for the field of marine conservation
    References
4.  Three letters of recommendation, one of which must be from the student’s major advisor.  Letters should address the relevance of the thesis research to marine conservation, the academic qualifications of the applicant, and anticipated future scientific contributions by the applicant.  Letters of recommendation must be included in the application package but must be sealed and signed on the overleaf.

Application address and deadline:

Complete applications (5 copies of all materials except recommendation letters) should be mailed to:
Steven Berkeley Marine Conservation Fellowship
American Fisheries Society
5410 Grosvenor Lane, Suite 110
Bethesda, MD 20814-2199

Applications must be postmarked by March 1, 2008.

Criteria for selection:

The fellowship will be awarded on the basis of the relevance of the proposed research, academic achievement, and anticipated future contributions by the applicant.  Submission of an application acknowledges the applicant’s acceptance of the committee’s decision as final.

Public announcement and notification:
The fellowship recipient will be notified and the award granted by June 1, 2008.  Public announcement will be made at the annual AFS meeting and in Fisheries magazine.  Publications that result from research supported by the award should recognize the specific support of the fellowship as well as that of AFS.