S.C. Sea Grant Consortium’s Commercial Seafood Apprenticeship Program (CSAP) is accepting applications through February 13, 2026. Interested people are encouraged to apply here to be considered for the 2026 cohort. CSAP will offer one month of paid job training in McClellanville, S.C., from May 4-29, 2026 that provides the knowledge and skills needed to start a career in commercial fishing or mariculture.
As part of the program, apprentices will be AMSEA Safety Drill Conductor certified, CPR and First Aid certified, and will complete over 120 hours of classroom and on-the-job training in safety, seamanship, and navigation; boat and gear operation and maintenance; fisheries science, management, and engagement; and seafood business operations.
CSAP is funded by the NOAA National Sea Grant Office and the USDA Rural Business Development Grant Program. CSAP is designed in partnership with Clemson University and offered by the Consortium in collaboration with the Town of McClellanville, McClellanville Community Foundation, and commercial fishing operations and mariculture growers across South Carolina.
Visit the CSAP website for more information.
Livingston’s Bulls Bay Seafood employees load a pallet of tumbled, bagged, and tagged local hard clams onto a refrigerated delivery truck. Photo: Hailey Murphy, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium.