Fisheries Ecology & Conservation provides students with the essential conservation science education in the biology and ecology of fish and other aquatic animals as well as the freshwater and marine ecosystems in which they reside. This involves learning about the structure and function of aquatic systems and their inhabitants; how to manage, conserve and restore fish and aquatic animal populations and their habitats; how to develop sustainable fisheries programs; effects of land use, water flow and contaminants on aquatic ecosystem health and fish community structure; and how to conserve and enhance biological diversity.  Becoming a fisheries professional requires talent, personal commitment, enthusiasm, sound technical training, and special skills.  An essential component of the concentration involves obtaining hands-on field skills as part of the coursework, and field experiences from summer jobs, internships, and cooperative education positions with state, federal, and international conservation organizations.  Our curriculum will provide the knowledge and skills necessary for entry-level employment in fisheries conservation professions, or to continue graduate training in fisheries ecology and conservation biology.  This concentration also provides the training and coursework required to qualify for professional certification by the American Fisheries Society. In addition, an undergraduate can earn a certificate in marine sciences through the Five College Coastal and Marine Sciences Program.

Contact: Andy Danylchuk
Office: 304 Holdsworth
Phone: (413) 545-2640
Email: 

Fisheries Ecology & Conservation Curriculum Sheet

Additional courses required for the concentration:

BIOLOGY 280 Evolution and Diversity of Life BIOLOGY 542 Ichthyology NRC 210 Aquatic Sampling and Identification NRC 211 Animal Sampling and Identification NRC 470 Fish Ecology NRC 571 Fisheries Science and Management NRC 597I Aquatic Ecology Choose From – NRC 592G Geographic Information Systems and 597G GIS Lab, NRC 577 Ecosystem Modeling and Simulation, NRC 534 Forest Measurements, STATISTCS 501 Methods of Applied Statistics, EDUC 555 Introduction to Statistics and Computer Analysis I or Math 127 Calculus I