Undergraduate Internship

IPHC Undergraduate Internship

Type:
Temporary —

Minimum Experience:

Student. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) is seeking to hire an undergraduate or recently graduated intern for Summer 2026 to work at the IPHC Headquarters (HQ) located in Salmon Bay, Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.

Seattle, WA, USA.

Undergraduate students entering or in their fourth year of study at an accredited university or college or recent graduates of a qualified undergraduate bachelor’s degree program who have graduated within the current academic year (2025/2026). Eligible fields of study include fisheries, marine biology, biology, ecology, environmental studies, fisheries oceanography, or other aquatic or biological‑related science. Eligibility also extends to quantitative or computer sciences for candidates interested in applications to fisheries.

The Internship Program is designed to provide interns with exposure to a variety of tasks associated with the management of an international fisheries resource. Each intern is assigned a research project that involves work in the IPHC Biological Laboratory but can also include work in other areas relevant to IPHC activities. The intern will work closely with a supervisor to ensure continuing progress toward work goals and with other staff members on the various tasks assigned.

• Work in the IPHC Biological Laboratory assisting in efforts to identify the sex of commercially landed Pacific halibut by genotyping.
• Work in the IPHC Otolith ageing laboratory learning otolith aging techniques, lab protocols, and the uses of determined ages.
• Contribute to the automatized ageing of otoliths using artificial intelligence (AI) and other AI applications across IPHC research activities.
• Assist with compilation of fisheries data supporting management process.
• Assist with dockside sampling on the U.S.A. West Coast, British Columbia, or Alaska, including participating in field work on an IPHC research vessel.
• Assist the Secretariat with other tasks as assigned.
• Report project results through a written report and an oral presentation to the Secretariat at the conclusion of the internship.

• Applicant must be in (or beginning) fourth year of undergraduate study at an accredited university or college or must have graduated within the 2025/2026 academic year. Eligible fields of study include fisheries, marine biology, biology, ecology, environmental studies, fisheries oceanography, or other aquatic or biological‑related science. Eligibility also extends to quantitative or computer sciences for candidates interested in applications to fisheries.
• Applicant must possess good communication skills and enthusiasm for engaging in a range of assigned tasks. The role requires collaborating with other IPHC Secretariat team members in various roles. The applicant must be self‑motivated and work well with limited supervision.
• Must be proficient with MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook software.
• Must be motivated and willing to work in various settings, including fishing ports and aboard IPHC chartered fishery‑independent setline survey (FISS) vessel in the open ocean if the work includes these tasks.
• A cold‑water survival at sea course (scheduled and paid for by the IPHC after hire) must be completed prior to deployment on a research vessel. Basic swimming skills will be needed to successfully complete the course.

• Completion of at least one basic statistics course.
• Previous experience in a laboratory setting (work or classroom).
• Basic proficiency in programming, particularly in languages relevant to data analysis (e.g. R or Python).
• Data collection experience in the field (work or classroom).
• Previous education and/or experience in fisheries species identification and sampling protocols.

The work term may include sea and/or port activities. These are often the highlights of the internship but can also be challenging. At sea, the intern is typically one of three scientific personnel on board a chartered fishing vessel along with 5–6 professional vessel crew members. All…