• Collects biological, catch, and effort information on marine fish fisheries at Washington’s coastal ports—these fisheries include recreational groundfish, commercial groundfish, and commercial coastal pelagic species fisheries.
• Dockside sampling at fisheries occur at all major coastal ports of Washington including Ilwaco, Chinook, Westport, La Push, and Neah Bay.
• Participates in fishery independent research surveys of groundfish and coastal pelagic species conducted off the Washington, Oregon, and California coast.
• Collects biological information on whole fish and filleted carcasses landed by recreational groundfish anglers.
• Collects biological, catch, and effort information from commercial groundfish fisheries including midwater trawl (Pacific Whiting), bottom trawl, setline (Sablefish, Halibut), and pot (Hagfish) gear types.
• Collects biological and species composition information from commercial coastal pelagic species fisheries including the anchovy baitfish fishery.
• Assists with survey operations on single day groundfish research cruises off the Washington coast from the mouth of the Columbia River to the confluence of the Sekiu River with the Strait of Juan de Fuca.
• Assists with survey operations on multiday (up to three weeks) coastal pelagic species research cruises off the Washington, Oregon and California coasts.
• Processes samples at the Region 6 headquarters laboratory.
• Maintains survey, dockside sampling, and laboratory equipment.

Schedule: 

• This schedule is variable and demanding depending on the activity.
• Schedule flexibility is crucial as work is dictated by ocean/weather conditions as well as by vessel offload schedules.
• Fieldwork is non-scheduled 24/7, up to 80 hours per week; weekend and evening work is required.
• Office and laboratory-based work is typically 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday to Friday.

Travel Requirements: 

• Travel requirements are highly variable depending on activity.
• Extended travel up to one (1) month may be required to accomplish at-sea surveys.

Qualifications

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:

          Or 

Please Note: College course work involving major study in biology, zoology, fisheries, chemistry, natural sciences, or closely allied field will substitute, year for year, for experience, provided the course work includes at least six (6) semester or nine quarter hours of natural or environmental science classes.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

Sampling Qualifications:

• Collect data systematically with a high degree of accuracy, precision, and completeness.
• Understands sampling concepts such as randomness and bias.
• Strong marine fish identification skills.
• Knowledge of commercial and recreational marine fishing gears and methods and be familiar with commercial fish processing plant operations.
• Skilled at procedures for collecting biological age structures from a variety of marine fish species.
• Use, troubleshoot, and make minor repairs of electronic sampling and tagging (CWT and PIT) equipment.

 Competencies:

• Possesses basic skills using Microsoft Office Suite: Excel, Access, and Word.
• Operate agency research vessel safely, conduct routine maintenance, and basic repairs.
• Familiar with coastal commercial groundfish databases.
• Capable of entering data into electronic devices including laptops and tablets accurately with minimal errors.
• Can proficiently review and compile data collected by themselves for quality control.

Supplemental Information

Please note: Failure to follow the instructions below may lead to disqualification. 

In order to successfully apply for this position, you MUST complete your profile at www.careers.wa.gov and attach the following to your profile before completing the online application:

• A cover letter describing how you meet the qualifications of this position (Generic cover letter will not be accepted).
• A current resume.
• Three professional references. 

IMPORTANT NOTES: 

All new employees must complete an Employment Eligibility Verification Form (I-9 Form) on their first day of work. If hired for this or any position at WDFW, you will be required to provide documentation proving you are eligible to work in the United States. For a list of acceptable documents, please use the following link:   https://www.uscis.gov/i-9-central/form-i-9-acceptable-documents

The Department of Fish and Wildlife’s priority during the Covid-19 health crisis is to keep our staff, candidates, and the public safe.  We are hiring and encourage you to apply to open positions. We have transitioned to a virtual recruitment process, to include web-based interviews.