TITLE:
A Case Study of a Highly Successful Undergraduate Aquaculture Internship Program
AUTHORS:
Michael E. Barnes
KEYWORDS:
Internship, Aquaculture, Fisheries, Natural Resource Management
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Access Library Journal,
Vol.10 No.11,
November
24,
2023
ABSTRACT: Undergraduate internships have been strongly recommended for the development of future aquaculture and fisheries. This article describes a highly productive undergraduate internship program of the South Dakota Department of Game, Fish and Parks at McNenny State Fish Hatchery, rural Spearfish, South Dakota, USA. Interns are creatively recruited. Effective supervision, including clear expectations, accountability, and self-sacrifice, is emphasized. While interns are expected to perform rudimentary and repetitive aquaculture activities, they are also given considerable independence and allowed to use their initiative to rise to the high expectations of the intern experience. A unique aspect of the internship is the possibility of assuming leadership of a research project from conception, with the understanding that the intern will write a paper for eventual journal publication. Suggestions for implementing a successful undergraduate program are emphasized.