Sharon VillageCenter
Univ. of Washington
Participated in the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf Groundfish Survey

As an intern with the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's EBS Groundfish Assessment Team during the summer of 2005 I learned valuable life lessons as well as some practical experiences in the field and in the lab. During my 10 week internship I spent three weeks on the fishing vessel Arcturus, while participating in the Eastern Bering Sea Shelf Survey with five other scientists and six crew members. Despite a bout of sea sickness, the work I did at sea was very interesting. I learned how to identify many different marine species, sort the catch, sub-sample a large population, collect otoliths, sex various species of fish, and work efficiently as part of a team. Because I was designated as a "crab-person", I also learned how to correctly identify and measure a few different species of crab and relay the information, via headphones, to be entered into a program called CrabBox.

The lab portion of the internship proved to be very stimulating as well. It is currently taking place at the Marine Molecular Biotechnology Laboratory (MMBL) on the UW campus. However, it began at NOAA's Sand Point Way location, where I was instrumental in adding to the growing database in EndNote. The database will assist others in locating particular articles in Frank Morado's vast professional collection of scientific literature.

At MMBL, I was shown how to extract DNA from tissue samples and utilize gel electrophoresis to visualize the DNA. I was also taught correct pipetting techniques and instructed on proper procedures to follow in order to minimize the possibility of contaminating samples. I was able to utilize my bookkeeping skills during the tissue transfer because the