MREP workshops are free for all non-federal participants.

MREP provides the following at zero–cost for participants:

• Hotel lodging

• Meals

• Travel reimbursement to/from the workshop

• Professional Development

No prior formal education is required. Seats are limited and active fishermen will be given first priority.

On the last day of each workshop, you will be provided with an MREP “invoice” where you’ll list your charges and include all itemized receipts. You will receive a reimbursement check within 30 days of submitting the invoice.

An itemized receipt is a copy of your receipt that lists the individual items you bought. A credit card slip alone does not qualify for reimbursement—you must provide an itemized receipt.

We’ll send you a new one! Email Leah at lmacnichol@gmri.org

We will reimburse you based on the number of miles driven. The reimbursement rate for 2024 is $0.67 per mile.

Yes. Each region differs in mileage reimbursement (based on different costs for travel in each region).

Contact Leah (lmacnichol@gmri.org), and she can provide you with additional regional reimbursement information.

We will reimburse for tolls if you have a receipt from the toll booth, or—in the case of electronic tolls—a snapshot of your online account that shows when, where, and how much you paid for each toll.

No. If you think you have a situation that would warrant a rental car, please Leah at lmacnichol@gmri.org

Yes. Each region differs in flight cost reimbursement (based on different costs for travel in each region).

Contact Leah (lmacnichol@gmri.org), and she can provide you with additional regional reimbursement information.

Only the most basic economy class seats are permitted, no upgrades.

The following are all considered upgrades, and therefore cannot be reimbursed:

• Seat selection fees

• Upgrades to another class (e.g. preferred, 1st class, etc.)

You are entitled to reimbursement for meal expenses (i.e. breakfast, lunch, or dinner) on route to or from the workshop.

An itemized receipt that shows where and when you ate, the items you bought, and the amount you paid

Alcohol will not be covered.

An itemized receipt is a copy of your receipt that lists the individual items you bought. A credit card slip alone does not qualify for reimbursement – you must provide an itemized receipt.

MREP typically provides breakfast, lunch, and dinner on workshop days. We will not reimburse for meals that you purchase on your own during these times.

MREP is funded through federal grants from NOAA Fisheries and the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. Over the years, private foundations and Fishery Management Councils have funded MREP as well. All federal employees who attend an MREP (as a presenter, guest visitor, etc) are paying their own way to be at the workshop, therefore the Fishery Management Council and NOAA provide in-kind support by sending staff to MREP.

MREP either consists of either:

• A 2-part workshop series (one 3-day fisheries science workshop + one 3-day fisheries management workshop), OR

• A single 5-day fisheries science and management workshop

To graduate from the program and receive your certificate of completion, you must complete both 3-day workshops OR the single 5-day workshop.

For the 2-part series: While we highly encourage you to attend both workshops in the same year with the rest of the cohort, we understand that scheduling can be challenging. To that end, if you can’t attend one of the workshops, you will be automatically accepted into the one that you missed the following year and will receive an invitation via email.

No. MREP cannot pay for federal employees to attend. If you’re a federal employee, we will work with you and the hotel to arrange for you to pay for your hotel room separately from the group. In other words, we can book the hotel room, but we cannot pay for it.