Fishery Biologist ; Chignik Salmon and Herring Area Management Biologist - PCN

Job Description

This position is open to Alaska Residents only. Please check our residency definition to determine if you qualify. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Commercial Fisheries is recruiting a Fishery Biologist 2/3 (Chignik Salmon and Herring Area Management Biologist) located in Kodiak, Alaska!

• Oversee all aspects of the Chignik River weir project, including budgeting, construction, installation, maintenance, operation, removal, and daily enumeration of salmon passage.
• Manage comprehensive logistical support for the weir and field office operations, including procurement, transportation, personnel deployment and rotations, maintenance of remote facilities, and ensuring safe and efficient functionality.
• Collect and analyze data critical to management decisions, including salmon escapement estimates through aerial surveys, vessel-based surveys, and daily weir counts.
• Monitor fleet effort, distribution, harvest rates, and total harvests through communication with field biologists, technicians, fishermen and processors.
• Serve as primary point of contact for complex or high‑profile commercial fishery issues in the CMA, representing the department to agencies and the public.
• Determine and implement necessary management actions (e.g., harvest areas, fishing periods, or limits) in coordination with Federal Subsistence Managers, regional fisheries managers, research biologists, and sport fish managers.
• Prepare written reports and materials on area fisheries and projects, including harvest strategies, management plans, project operational plans, season summaries, annual management reports, escapement goal reports, and proposals for the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
• Deliver presentations on fisheries data, management strategies, and project outcomes to diverse audiences such as the Alaska Board of Fisheries, Federal Subsistence Board, local Native corporations and Tribal councils, Fish and Game Advisory Committee, and other stakeholder groups.
• Manage budgets for CMA commercial salmon fishery projects, including apportioning and expending allocated funds across multiple initiatives.

• Seasonally based in the remote community of Chignik, Alaska; extended periods (3‑4 months) living and working at the remote Chignik River weir camp and field office with limited accommodations and access.
• Hands‑on involvement in annual construction, installation, maintenance, operation, and removal of the Chignik River weir under challenging riverine conditions and variable weather.
• Multiple aerial survey flights each season in single‑engine fixed‑wing aircraft to enumerate salmon escapements and assess run strength across the management area.
• Requires physical resilience, self‑sufficiency, adaptability to unpredictable Alaskan weather, and a deep passion for fieldwork in a pristine wilderness fisheries setting.

• Proficiency in real‑time fisheries data collection and analysis using aerial surveys, weir operations and daily escapement counts.
• Strong decision‑making skills under uncertainty, with ability to issue emergency orders and implement regulatory management plans for large‑scale, multimillion‑dollar commercial fisheries.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to maintain extensive contacts with fishermen, processors, field staff, agencies, and the public via in‑person, phone, radio, and email.
• Technical writing proficiency for producing annual management reports, escapement goals, fishery summaries and Board of Fisheries proposals.
• Problem‑solving and innovation skills to address complex challenges, navigate uncertainty and develop novel solutions in a dynamic fisheries management environment.

Fishery Biologist 2

• Bachelor’s degree in biology or related field.
• At least one year of professional experience as a biologist or fish culturist (e.g., Fishery Biologist 1, Fish Culturist 1, Wildlife Biologist 1, Habitat Biologist
  1).
• Substitution: A bachelor’s degree with specified credit hours in biology and at least 12 semester hours in complementary analytical subjects, as listed. A master’s degree in the same field substitutes…