Fisheries study line

Fishing is one of the most important human activities influencing aquatic ecosystems. In the fisheries study line you will gain a profound understanding of how fish stocks can be managed to achieve the maximum sustainable yield without serious ecological side effects.

The fisheries study line combines knowledge in oceanography, fish ecology, ecosystem dynamics and fisheries to explain how fish production is influenced by climate variation, food web interactions and harvesting.

Together with knowledge on fish stock assessment and monitoring, fisheries management, fish genetics, recreational fishing, and mathematical modelling this will provide you with the competencies to estimate the size and productivity of fish stocks and participate in designing fisheries systems that are ecologically and economically sustainable.  

Mandatory courses

A variety of courses allows you to put together a curriculum to suit your particular needs, but should include:

• 25307 Fisheries Ecology and Assessment
• 25312 Fisheries Systems - Management and Modelling

In addition, the students must choose at least 15 ECTS from the following:

• 25313 Genetic Methods in Fisheries and Aquatic Biodiversity Conservation
• 25320 Recreational Fishing; Biological Impacts, Management and Human Dimensions
• 25311 Fisheries Oceanography
• 25333 Aquatic Systems Engineering
• 25314 Computational Marine Ecological Modelling
• 25321 Fish Nutrition and Bioenergetics
• 25326 Fish physiology in aquaculture
• 25332 Business Development and Innovation
• 25323 Topics in Aquatic Sciences (5 ECTS) and special courses that relate to topics of fisheries can, after approval from the DTU Aqua study board, also be included in the 15 ECTS.

Elective courses that can in addition be relevant for fisheries specialization include: 12343, 12333, 30530, 02424, 02411, 02409, 12104 and 12121 (not an exclusive list).

Obtained competences

The MSc graduate with a focus on Fisheries

• knows how fishing and environmental change affect the structure and functioning of marine and freshwater ecosystems and the population dynamics, growth and genetics of affected populations
• can account for how oceanographic and marine ecosystem processes including environmental (e.g., climate) change affects and interacts with ecology of fish and fisheries
• can estimate the abundance, biomass, and productivity of exploited fish and shellfish stocks, as well as the level of exploitation generating the maximum sustainable yield
• can explain how and why sustainable management of recreational fisheries requires an interdisciplinary approach including social and natural science
• can provide advice on the sustainable exploitation of fish and shellfish stocks, as well as on the rational, ecologically sustainable and economic efficient management of commercial and recreational fisheries
• can design, implement, optimize and evaluate technological solutions in the field of fishery.

Recommended courses at the fisheries study line

The following examples apply for a study start in September.

See more options in the curriculum.