Join Our Team

Exciting opportunity to work with our team in Vancouver!

Research Scientist – Conservation Impacts of Bottom Trawl Fisheries

Apply by: 15 October 2023

We are advancing knowledge of bottom trawling, for greater scientific and public engagement and to drive significant policy change. We seek an enthusiastic researcher to support our research, management and policy activities related to the our strategic plan and our goal of ending bottom trawl fisheries.

More here

We welcome new postdoctoral fellows. Indeed, we would love to have many such colleagues on board.

If you are interested in working in Project Seahorse priority areas, then please contact us, ideally with your own funding.

Research students (MSc, MA and PhD) have always been vital members of the Project Seahorse team. We are lucky in having many wonderful students approach us, often 100 people in a year. So here are some useful guidelines for potential applicants.

Any graduate / research student would be formally supervised by Prof. Amanda Vincent at UBC (Canada) or Prof. Heather Koldewey at ZSL or Exeter University (UK) so they must be acceptable to their universities in academic record and English language skills.

Prof.  Vincent will only be taking new graduate students in 2024 who match the following criteria:

• • seeking MSc degree
  • wanting to study seahorse biology / ecology in the field
  • expecting to hold scholarship funding amounting to at least C$17,500 per year (cannot be self funded)
  • qualified to dive
  • willing to work in difficult field conditions

Prof. Vincent expects to take one or two other students in 2025, including PhD students and for broader topics.

If you are interested in graduate studies with us, please write 12-15 months ahead of your proposed start date. We ask you to provide the following:

• • • An introductory letter, briefly addressing the selection parameters (below).
    • Your CV or biography.
    • An indication of your marks.
    • A list of scholarships or funding you have obtained or have sought.

NB: Graduate students generally start in September in Canada. Amanda usually compiles applications then reviews them all in preceding November. She makes preliminary decisions in December, formal applications are due in January, and offers are generally made in February or March. January and May starts are also possible, although unusual, with commensurate shifts in other timing.

Nearly all students who approach us have very good academic records. Beyond that, we look for people who fill most of these criteria… though few will fit all!

• 1. Are keen to work within Project Seahorse priority areas. For example, we don’t work on ocean acidification or open ocean issues, while appreciating the many colleagues who do.
  2. Have a proven capacity to make measurable progress and finish projects. We’d like to know what you have accomplished and completed. It can be a conservation or academic gain, but we are also interested in your achievements in community service, sports, arts, and much more.
  3. Have spent at least a year (ideally more) away from acadaemia, gaining practical experience in marine conservation / ocean endeavours / policy domains / human development.
  4. Have considerable experience living and / or working in developing countries / Indigenous lands and seas / marginalised communities. Not just holiday visits.
  5. Come from countries or regions that are priority areas for Project Seahorse, are keen to do thesis research in those or nearby regions, and plan to return to those regions after their degrees.
  6. Have several languages and good cultural skills.
  7. Are deeply passionate about ocean conservation but able to temper this with rigour and pragmatism.
  8. If at all possible, can bring their own scholarships or funding (though we can also help sort this out).

UBC

• Amanda accepts a very limited number of students for directed study or honours projects at UBC. You would need to approach her well ahead of time, and be flexible in your ideas. Field work is almost never feasible unless you have funding and the project fits our priorities.
• We sometimes have funding at UBC for work learn or work study positions during the academic year or the summer. So it is worth contacting us if you are interested. The opportunities are all desk-based.
• We are willing to consider interns who (i) fit within Project Seahorse priority interests and (ii) can fund themselves. If you are interested, please contact us so that we can consider the possible match.
• We value volunteers and their contributions and try to support them properly. This means we can take a few people:
  • Most of our volunteers are UBC undergraduate students willing to do desk-based work and meet needs that are neither glamorous nor exciting. If you still feel you could help us, then a huge thank you.
  • A very few volunteers are sometimes needed for field work, to support in-country staff or graduate students. We will post such opportunities here as they arise.