Research Overview
The College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences conducts a broad range of research in fisheries, oceanography and marine biology. Our projects range from hypothesis-driven studies to long-term monitoring time series to large integrative projects. Much of our research focuses on the Arctic and North Pacific regions, but also extends well beyond Alaskan waters.
Faculty and research scientists in the Department of Marine Biology are leaders in high-latitude ecosystem studies and climate change research, with
expertise that includes benthic community structure to carbon source contributions,
trophic ecology in Arctic and subarctic food webs, seabird and marine mammal ecology
and physiology, and ocean acidification to mariculture. Marine biology research is
focused on endangered and protected species and animals of critical importance to
Alaska Native subsistence communities, as well as economically and ecologically important
taxa. Alaska’s economy is largely natural resource–based, and marine biology faculty
are important contributors to setting the research agenda and policy of marine biology–related
issues, especially in high-latitude ecosystems, by serving on national and international
science boards and panels.
Oceanographers study how physics and chemistry impact the production of the basal
elements of the ocean’s food web and, in particular, how a changing climate may lead
to altered ecosystems that will ultimately impact the quantity of resources we depend
on from the sea. Faculty and research scientists in the Department of Oceanography are international experts on high-latitude ecosystems who contribute to many high-profile
reports, panels, committees and steering groups. These various research and policy
efforts prepare oceanographers for a future with ever-increasing needs from the oceanographic
community. CFOS oceanography faculty are widely recognized for conducting diverse
ocean sciences research, including long-term time series, a broad range of observational
programs, and modeling studies. Oceanography faculty and alumni work closely with
state and federal agencies to help manage our ocean resources from regional to global
scales.
Research conducted by faculty and research scientists in the Department of Fisheries contributes significantly to fisheries and the fishing industry in Alaska. The fishing
industry is the state’s largest private employer, with an average of approximately
60,000 workers in the seafood industry, including roughly 32,000 fishermen (annual
average over 2013–2014). Fisheries is also the primary economic driver for many rural
coastal communities, with an ex-vessel value of $1.8 billion in 2018 (processing to
wholesale products typically doubles this value). Alaska’s fisheries represent about
60% of US production, and these fisheries are widely regarded as among the best managed
in the world. Fisheries research conducted at CFOS is essential to maintaining this
critical resource in the face of shifting environmental forces such as climate change.
Fisheries faculty and alumni are intimately integrated into these marine and inland
fisheries through management, training, technical workforce and supportive research.