How does the scholarship research program work?
To qualify for consideration, projects must focus on the study of some aspect of environmental improvement, performance or best practice in fisheries management, or seafood product traceability and supply chain management.
Since its launch in 2012, the MSC has awarded over £70,000 to 19 student projects in 14 countries.
Applications are now closed for our 2019 program.
Undergraduate or postgraduate students worldwide who are studying problems and solutions in fisheries science and management or supply chain traceability.
Up to £4,000 per project is available for travel and other support. Approximately five scholarships are awarded each year.
Please return completed application forms (below) to scholarship@msc.org, with your name in the file name.
As an MSC Research Scholar, I was able to join international researchers and practitioners working to ensure the sustainability of octopus fishing across the Western Indian Ocean.
Ahmad is researching the use of Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs) in small-scale Indonesian tuna fisheries. FADs are used to attract fish and there are currently many unregistered FADs deployed in Indonesia. Working with Masyarakat dan Perikanan Indonesia (MDPI), the project aims to detect the location of FADs and analyse vessel behaviour and catch around FADs. Ahmad will work with scientists at CSIRO Australia to analyse data and develop statistical models describing the use of FADs.
Catherine is mapping the value chain of the Chilean marmola crab fishery. Marmola crab are a commercially important species in Chile where they are harvested using traps and diving. Catherine is conducting interviews to identify new market opportunities and map the value chain at a regional, national and international level.
Laurissa is studying the influence of sea ice on deep-water food web dynamics in the Arctic. Working with Inuit communities in Nanavut, Canada, Laurissa is collecting samples from trawl surveys and local Inuit hunts. Laurissa’s research is vital to monitoring the impacts of fisheries on Arctic food webs and will fill a key knowledge gap in this understudied region.
Matthew is trialling a new way of monitoring stocks of European lobster off the coast of Scotland. The European lobster fishery is vital to Scotland’s rural fishing communities and a limited understanding of the stock status makes sustainable management difficult. Matthew will collaborate with Orkney Sustainable Fisheries to tag and release undersized and legal sized lobsters, recording their movements and recaptures to provide insight into population density, behaviour and distribution of the stock.
Zelin is researching management strategies for a quota-based management system in China’s red swimming crab fishery. Red swimming crab is valuable to local fishing communities in China, playing an important role in global seafood trade. Zelin is studying the perceptions of key stakeholders and reviewing existing literature. The project will advance understanding of Chinese red swimmer crab and provide recommendations on a quota-based management system.
Mapped the trade flows of octopus in East Africa.
Trialled the use of LED lights on nets to reduce turtle bycatch in Kenyan artisanal fisheries.
Investigated best practice in sustainable seaweed aquaculture in Indonesia.
Conducted social research around illegal fishing and the enforcement systems established by local fishing cooperatives in Mexico.
Used genetic sequencing technology to examine population structures of yellowfin tuna in South Africa.
Investigated the environmental and economic challenges of seafood supply chains in developing countries.
Studied the distribution of tuna species surrounding a UNESCO World Heritage site, Cocos Island National Park, in the eastern Pacific.
Researched the adaptive capacity of the port of Vigo in global seafood markets.
Researched the use of bycatch reduction devices in the southern Brazilian artisanal seabob shrimp trawl fishery.
Conducted a socioeconomic assessment of the artisanal Lobster fishery in Juan Fernandez Islands, Chile.
Researched management structures for successful fisheries in Gulf of California fisheries.
Analysed the effectiveness of the Blue Swimming Crab Fisheries Improvement Project in Indonesia.
Studied coastal fisheries management traditions of the Bedu of South Sinai and implications for modern‐day conservation in Egypt.
Studied the effects of closing the fishery of the deep-sea shrimp Aristeus atennatus during winter season in the Mediterranean.
The MSC collaborates with leading research groups. Find out about our current research projects.