Agricultural Careers

Fisheries Scientist

By: Dr. Frank Flanders and Trisha Rae Stephens

Georgia Agricultural Education Curriculum Office

Georgia Department of Education

June 2005

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Job Duties & Responsibilities

• Collect data• Sample fish• Keep records • Manage fish food supply• Use statistical math to make sense of the data• Catching fish and analyzing their stomach contents to see what they are eating• Designing and implementing studies

Qualities and Skills

• Good physical condition• Ability to work in all weather conditions

• Ability to withstand physical labor• Excellent written and verbal skills

• Willingness to travel

Salary

Full-time salaried aquaculture farm managers had a median annual salary of $28,000 in 2000, while Conservation Scientists were at about $47,000, and Natural Science Managers were at $84,000.

Work Environment

• A fish farm• A fish hatchery • A particular body of water• On a boat using sonar to track fish depths and distribution• Indoors doing laboratory work or office work

Becoming an Fisheries Scientist

• In high school, take courses that emphasize: Biology, Chemistry, Mathematics, Computer Science, Writing, and Speaking, Animal Science, Wildlife Management, Natural Resources Management, Physical Science, Environmental Science, Algebra, Physical Education• This undergraduate program typically includes courses in the following subjects: Aquaculture, Aquatic Ecology, Biology, Biology of Fishes, Biology of Shellfishes, Chemistry, Conservation and Management, Fisheries Techniques, Freshwater Ecology, Marine Biology and Ecology

Career Resources

American Fisheries Society 5410 Grosvenor LaneBethesda, MD 20814

Internet: http://www.fisheries.org/html/jobs.shtml

American Association for the Advancement of Science 1200 New York Avenue NW

Washington, DC 20005Internet: http://www.aaas.org/