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Fisheries Technician

A fisheries technician may perform a wide variety of job duties, ranging from repairing equipment and spawning fish species, to conducting a creel census to determine fish population characteristics.

The career outlook for a fisheries technician is okay. They make on average $25-$37 thousand a year.

Fisheries technicians also compile and analyze data, and assist in habitat planning and project design. Junior level fisheries technicians provide support for senior level workers in field sampling, collecting data, and equipment maintenance and repair, while senior level fisheries technicians with higher level training in marine biology perform managerial and planning tasks like designing research studies, supervising junior employees in carrying out data collection and analysis, and identifying fish species and habitat constraints.

Some examples of data recorded by fisheries technicians include fish weight, length, age, sex, and population counts. Workers also take water samples and measure characteristics like oxygen, pH, and turbidity. This represents just a sampling of some of the kinds of data collection and analysis typically performed by a fisheries technician.

A fisheries technician works to preserve the natural ecology of fish habitats and protect fish and other types of marine biology. Because marine ecology is complex, it's important to protect species from encroachments on their habitat by human development, and to analyze the impact of variables on marine species. Protecting marine ecology is important not only for the creatures that inhabit the waters, but for maintaining renewable natural resources for human use as well.

A fisheries technician job is a good match for people with a strong interest in marine biology who enjoy working outdoors. If you like being on the water and working hands-on to collect data on fish species and habitats, a fisheries technician job could be a good fit. This job also involves quantitative and statistical analysis, and is ideal for someone who enjoys using statistics to analyze data and draw inferences.

Junior level fisheries technicians generally have some college courses or an associate degree in environmental science, marine biology, or related fields. Senior positions often require a bachelor's degree in these areas, or an associate degree with combined with other qualifying experience. Other skills that may be needed to work as a fisheries technician include familiarity with operating a boat, fish sampling techniques, and fish species identification.