Coastal Marine Education and Research Academy
C.M.E.R.A.
What We Believe
We at CMERA believe that there are numerous benefits to field experience and interactive learning such as:
Our Purpose as a Research Academy
Our goal is to provide hands-on field research opportunities to college students or anyone interested in the natural sciences while conducting research to further the understanding of shark and ray ecology.
Your Unique Opportunity
With CMERA, you will gain valuable field research experience while learning how to properly handle marine animals, identify local species, collect data, and design a research project. You will learn about our local, unique, coastal ecosystems. You will experience hands-on experience with animals, while learning about their anatomy and ecology, such as sharks, Stingrays, crabs, starfish, and other fishes and observe sea turtles, dolphins, manatees, and other animals in their natural habitat.
This is an excellent shark research internship opportunity for all students interested in the natural sciences, students planning to attend graduate school in the natural sciences, and students planning to pursue a career in the natural sciences. This kind of research experience will put you ahead of your classmates and other potential employees. The skills you will acquire will be invaluable when you are conducting your own research as a graduate student, and this experience may give you ideas for what you would like to study in graduate school. For those of you that would like to go directly into a career in the natural sciences, this experience will look fantastic on your resume and could be the difference in getting the job or not. Most importantly, no matter what your plans are after graduation, this is FUN!
How We Stand Out
All day, every day Monday through Friday we are out on boats catching and handling live animals. Spend a week or more with us and 100% of your time is hands on and in the field! You will be allowed to tag, collect data and handle both sharks and rays as they are brought on the boat. This is not a "stand over there and watch" type of experience. You are personally involved in all phases of the day’s activities.
Most other internship opportunities available to college students offer very little hands-on or field work experience. In most other programs you will spend most of your time in a lab, doing food preparation (at a zoo or aquarium), or doing other grunt work.
While lab work is very important and essential in conducting scientific research we believe to fully understand an organism or an ecosystem you must spend time with it in its natural environment.
Also, unlike some internship and research opportunities, with CMERA no previous experience is necessary. You may participate in as many weeks as you would like (there are incentives for attending multiple weeks listed on the summer program page).
Credit Hours
The majority of students are able to receive credit through their college or university.
Although CMERA does not directly provide credit hours toward your degree we will assist you by providing any documentation your school may need to grant credit for your time with us. Students are advised to discuss receiving credit with your school advisor. Most institutions offer hours listed as independent research or directed study for this kind of summer opportunity. They may also require you to attend a certain number of weeks in order to be eligible for credit. We will provide you a letter of completion or other confirmation that may be required by your school.