Fiskeriøkolog - Dataanalyse Lyngby - DTU Aqua

If you want to deepen our understanding of how fisheries have shaped the marine environment over time—and enjoy uncovering key information hidden in historical sources—this PhD project offers an exceptional opportunity to grow as a scientist within an international, interdisciplinary team. At DTU Aqua, you will work at the forefront of research on historical fisheries data, conducting ecological and quantitatively focused studies of past commercial fisheries. Your work will examine both catch (species, sizes, quantities) and fishing effort (vessels, gear, activity) in Danish waters, aiming to develop pioneering time‑series of catch per unit of effort (CPUE) and environmental footprints. The project’s overarching goal is to reconstruct historical baselines for fish and fisheries by digitizing and harmonizing more than a century of landing and fleet data from diverse archival sources

Responsibilities

Your primary tasks will be to:

• Compile and harmonize historical data from multiple sources (fisheries statistics and technical descriptions in books, accounts, and periodicals).
• Engage with experts across disciplines, institutions, and countries, to access, interpret, digitize, standardize, and analyze the information in these sources.
• Conduct statistical modeling of the compiled catch and effort data to produce century-long time series of CPUE and environmental footprints.
• Develop and apply methodology to account for technological development and regulatory bias in the time-series
• Interpret results in the context of fish stock dynamics, human pressures, marine conservation and fisheries management under shifting baselines.
• Teach and co-supervise students at different levels in courses and associated projects.
• Publish and disseminate findings in peer-reviewed journals and reputable conferences.

Qualifications and Experience

• Profound interest in fish, fishing vessels, and marine ecology in a historic context.
• Proficiency in quantitative data analyses and a solid grasp of statistical methods in R is considered highly advantageous.
• Excellent communication skills, with proficiency in English and preferably one of the Scandinavian languages (Danish, Swedish and Norwegian), to be able to read the old Danish fisheries statistics and technical descriptions and effectively engage with stakeholders, citizens, public and the scientific community. 
• Experience with the peer-review publication process is an advantage.

You must have a two-year master’s degree (120 ECTS points) or a similar degree with an academic level equivalent to a two-year master’s degree.

Approval and Enrolment

We offer

Salary and appointment terms

Starting date is 1st of April 2026 (or at the earliest possible date thereafter). The position is a full-time position.

You can read more about career paths at DTU here http://www.dtu.dk/english/about/job-and-career/working-at-dtu/career-paths.

Further information

Further information may be obtained from Ole Ritzau Eigaard (ore@aqua.dtu.dk ).

Please do not send applications to the above e-mail addresses but follow the electronic application and submission procedure as explained below.

You can read more about “Section for Ecosystem based Marine Management” at www.aqua.dtu.dk/om-dtu-aqua/organisation/faglige-sektioner/sektion-for-oekosystembaseret-marin-forvaltning

If you are applying from abroad, you may find useful information on working in Denmark and at DTU at DTU – Moving to Denmark . Furthermore, you have the option of joining our monthly free seminar “PhD relocation to Denmark and startup “Zoom” seminar ” for all questions regarding the practical matters of moving to Denmark and working as a PhD at DTU. 

Application procedure 

one PDF file

• A letter motivating the application (cover letter)
• Curriculum vitae 
• Grade transcripts and BSc/MSc diploma (in English) including official description of grading scale
• A short description of initial thoughts on the research (maximum 1-2 pages), outlining how you would address the tasks and objectives of the PhD project

You may apply prior to ob­tai­ning your master’s degree but cannot begin before having received it. 

Applications received after the deadline will not be considered.

All interested candidates irrespective of age, gender, disability, race, religion or ethnic background are encouraged to apply. As DTU works with research in critical technology, which is subject to special rules for security and export control, open-source background checks may be conducted on qualified candidates for the position.

Objectives of our research section

The objective of DTU Aqua’s research into ecosystem based marine management is to develop knowledge and tools that can be used as the basis for advice on ecosystem based fisheries management taking overall goals as reflected in fisheries and environmental policy into account.

You can read more about our institute and section at DTU Aqua , and Ecosystem based Marine Management

About DTU Aqua

Technology for people

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