Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center

The Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center (RFRC) was founded in 1994 by Elmer E. Rasmuson with a $1 million dollar endowment to the Ӱpro (UAF) College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (CFOS). This endowment has grown through a $100,000 donation by Wards Cove Packing Company and additional contributions by Mr. Rasmuson. After Mr. Rasmuson's death in December 2000, a second major endowment in support of the RFRC was created through a bequest from Mr. Rasmuson's estate. The endowments are managed by the University of Ӱpro Foundation, and interest on the principal is used to support master’s and doctoral students atUAF CFOS for their graduate research. The research goal of RFRC-supported students is to advance the understanding of aquatic and marine ecosystems by supporting sustainable resource management, informing climate and ecosystem policy, and contributing to science-based decision-making through integrated field, lab, and modeling efforts. To date, the RFRC has given out 141 fellowships and support to UAF CFOS graduate students.

Photo of sockeye salman

Our Mission

The Rasmuson Fisheries Research Center's mission is to promote excellence in research related to fisheries and marine sciences, and to foster young fisheries and marine scientists.

Research Goals

Proposals must demonstrate an interconnection within and/or among fishery systems, including community connections, and must address at least two of the following target areas in Ӱpro waters. Priority will be given to projects that incorporate novel and emerging technologies as it pertains to the research goals. Note that the target areas below are not ranked in order of priority.

  • Ecology, biology, distribution and systematics of species of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds affected by fisheries, both target and nontarget species;
  • Human dimensions of fishery systems, e.g., community and socio-cultural relationships;
  • Development of the shellfish aquaculture and mariculture industry in Ӱpro;
  • Two-way exchange of knowledge (also known as “two-eyed seeing”) that braids both Indigenous and Western knowledge systems and ways of knowing;
  • Genetic structure of Ӱpron fish and shellfish populations and seaweeds;
  • Fluctuations of fish and shellfish stocks and seaweeds, interactions of forage species with consumers including mammals and birds, and the ecosystems in which they occur;
  • Responses of fish, shellfish, and seaweeds to environmental variability;
  • Impacts of climate change on marine and riverine fisheries and their communities;
  • Impacts of emerging and legacy contaminants and diseases on the health of water-based ecosystems and human populations.