Recreational Creel & Commercial Fishery Surveyor- SciTech - Career Seasonal

Recreational Creel And Commercial Fishery Surveyor

With your fisheries knowledge and customer service skills, you will interview active anglers, sample fish and collect biological data, and conduct spawning ground surveys in the Columbia River and its tributaries. The critical data you collect will be utilized to assess the impacts of sport and commercial fisheries on wild salmonid stocks in Washington State.

What to Expect:

Among the varied range of responsibilities held within this role, the Recreational Creel and Commercial Fishery Surveyors will:

• Conduct recreational angler creel surveys on the mainstem Lower Columbia River and its tributaries:
  Interview individual and groups of anglers to collect information related to hours fished, number of fish harvested or released, natural versus hatchery origin, gear type employed, hooking location, and all other pertinent biological and tag sampling information required.
• Complete effort counts according to schedules and times.
• Perform counts of fish, collect coded wire tag (CWT) and passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags, scales, and other biological data.
• Implement and support electronic data capture using updated hardware, including iPads, tablets, or other handheld electronic devices.
• Review and download data into agency databases.
• Query snout inventory for all fishery projects and deliver snouts to laboratories for processing.
• Conduct treaty and non-treaty commercial sampling and non-treaty commercial fishery observation:
  Travel to canneries, tribal in-lieu sites, and fish buyer facilities to lead and participate on crews conducting biological sampling on commercial landed catch (including collecting CWT and PIT Tags, DNA samples, scales and other biological data).
• Communicate with sampling staff regarding fish house sampling schedule and preparation of sampling gear.
• Maintain the quality of data collected and monitor snout collection inventory, communicating with both Washington and Oregon state staff regarding data and sample transfers.
• Assist with on-board commercial fishery observations, which may involve boat-to-boat transfers while on the water.
• Monitor marine mammals interacting with commercial fishery gears.
• Conduct spawning ground surveys and hatchery brood stock and surplus sampling:
  Conduct adult salmonid spawning ground surveys by boat or by foot on the Lower Columbia River and its tributaries, identify and enumerate adult salmonids (live and dead) and redds, use GPS devices to mark redd locations, and apply tags to carcasses for mark/recapture programs.
• Sample carcasses collected on spawning grounds for length, sex, CWT and PIT tags, and spawning success.
• Travel to hatchery locations to collect biological samples from brood stock and surplus fish using established protocols.

Working Conditions:

Work Setting, including hazards:

• Approximately 90% of work will be conducted in a field environment, with the remaining 10% of work occurring in an office or laboratory setting.
• Work outdoors in all weather conditions, including inclement weather, often on wet, slippery surfaces. Lift, with or without assistance, large, live and deceased fish, typically weighing up to 30 pounds and rarely over 100 pounds. Repetitively carry loads weighing up to 70 pounds for short distances over rough terrain.
• Walk up to six (6) miles per day over rough terrain, handle fish of varying dispositions (which may have strong odors), and climb in and out of motorized and non-motorized boats. Operate 17-to-22-foot jet-powered vessels in river conditions, which may include fast-moving, shallow water. Accurately record repetitive data under adverse environmental conditions for long periods of time.
• This position may involve working in or near water, including tasks that require navigating, negotiating, and performing duties related to water environments.

Schedule:

40 hours per week, 24/7 non-scheduled—work hours may be assigned at any time within a 24-hour period and shifts are not fixed, varying based on operational needs.

Travel Requirements:
Daily travel from the duty station to and from field locations is required, as most duties are conducted in the field, with a…