Title: Fish Hatchery Technician
Location: Sitka, Alaska and various locations on Baranof & Kupreanof Islands.
Dates: Early January to early November 2026.
Closing Date: Until filled.
Wage: $17-21/hour DOE, plus housing.

Duties & Responsibilities:
Assist full-time hatchery staff with routine fish culture and husbandry duties, including but not limited to: feeding and care of juvenile Pacific salmon fry, egg-takes and spawning adult salmon, incubation of fertilized eggs, rearing net washing/mending, and cleaning fish raceways, ponds and egg incubators. Staff will also assist with accurate data collection and recordkeeping, environmental monitoring for plankton abundance and water quality, fish health monitoring, small boat (<16’) operation, and general site/facility maintenance such as pressure washing and groundskeeping. Communal housing in a “bunkhouse” setting is available at no cost. Successful candidates will provide their own transportation to Alaska (Sitka or Juneau) at the beginning and end of the hiring period.

Fish Hatchery Technicians will also assist with operating several seasonal satellite fish release locations (acclimation sites) from February through late May under the supervision of the Hatchery Manager or Project Leader. This entails living and working a rotational schedule on a modern floating “barge” consisting of a small three-bedroom apartment with bathroom and fish feed warehouse adjacent to a complex of fish netpens. Upon fish releases in late May, staff will return to their primary hatchery duty station to assist with spawning adult fish and care of other species in culture such as Chinook and coho fingerlings.

Additional Information:
Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) is a private non-profit regional aquaculture association headquartered in Sitka, AK and operates four ocean-ranching Pacific salmon hatcheries in Southeast Alaska, raising Chinook coho, and chum salmon. Additionally, NSRAA operates a 9-month remote coho lake rearing program and has a collaborative on-site presence at a NOAA salmon research hatchery on southern Baranof Island (same island as Sitka). To support these hatcheries and programs, NSRAA also has a Research and Evaluation (R&E) department of biologists and newly remodeled otolith/fish pathology lab. Additional opportunities to assist other NSRAA hatcheries and the R&E department with research projects such as chum and pink salmon spawner surveys, juvenile Chinook and coho coded-wire tagging, and other activities can be expected throughout the year.

NSRAA’s mission is to provide additional fishing opportunities for all user groups in Southeast Alaska, including commercial, sport and subsistence fishers. Nestled in the heart of the Tongass National Forest,this job offers a rewarding and unique maritime lifestyle with abundant outdoor recreation and learning opportunities, new life skills, and seafood harvest opportunity that is second to none. Additional information about who we are can be found on our website at www.nsraa.org.

Qualifications:
Education and/or experience in fisheries biology, aquaculture, wildlife management, and animal husbandry is preferred. Sound physical fitness is necessary due to the physical nature of hatchery work (i.e., ability to carry 50 lbs for distances of up to 100 yards). Candidates must be able to live at a remote location (either seasonally or full time dependent upon primary hatchery duty station assignment) with modern conveniences and interact positively with co-workers, members of the public, and scientific collaborators.