The primary goals of the government’s fishery observation programs are to provide quantitative biological, vessel, and gear-selectivity information for the New England and Mid-Atlantic fishery. Each biologist operates on commercial fishing vessels operating in ports throughout New England and the Mid-Atlantic. If you ever wanted to make a difference, this is how.
Biologist’ record detailed information on the gear and fishing activity of the vessels. Biologists work on deck on vessels ranging from 20’ to 100’ on trips roughly ranging from 7 to 14 days collecting data on fish catch and discard and incidental takes such as marine mammals, seabirds and marine turtles. After attending a 3-week paid training that will be administered in person in Falmouth, MA biologists are deployed from ports throughout New England and Mid-Atlantic states. Gear types assessed include, but limited to, trawl, and gillnet.
This is a challenging job, and candidates must be mentally prepared to be away from home for multiple days, and must be physically able to handle heavy lifting, working odd hours, and long days in rough seas. Observing provides an excellent career in marine biology, as biologists are widely recognized as being excellent field biologists. A broad range of advancement opportunities are available to those who demonstrate appropriate capabilities. Those opportunities include, but are not limited to, project management, field supervisors, and fieldwork in other programs.
Minimum Qualifications:
- A bachelor’s degree in Marine Biology or Biology from an accredited college or university with 30 credits of biology coursework, 6 credits of marine science
- At least one undergraduate course in math or statistics.
- All relevant course work must have been performed at a level acceptable for credit at the candidate’s academic institution.
- Experience with data entry on computers.
- Candidates must be U.S. citizens, or be legally authorized to work in the U.S.
- Candidates must be physically able, as determined by a licensed physician’s certification to perform biologist duties.
- Your own transportation is required.
- Candidates are expected to commit to the program for at least one year.
Preferred Qualifications:
- At-sea experience
- Coursework in Dichotomous Keys
Compensation: Biologists’ starting pay is $20.25/hour. Dependent on enrollment in our H&W benefit, biologists may also be eligible for an additional $4.57/hour for the first 40 hours worked on each calendar week for a total of $24.82 hour. This is a full–time position with benefits. Annually, biologists earn between $35K – $55K a year dependent on their availability to deploy offshore and their personal sea day accomplishments. Biologists will be paid a minimum of 12 hours for each calendar day offshore and are also eligible for additional compensable activities while on land.
Locations: Applicants must be currently living or be willing to live within 50 miles of Point Pleasant, NJ
