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Native fish conservation career?


11 replies to this topic

#1 KalebRinehart

KalebRinehart
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 06 January 2017 - 10:58 PM

I wasn't exactly sure where else to post this so, sorry if it's not in the correct spot.

I'm still trying to pinpoint exactly what I want to do when I get out of high school, with all these career things we have done the past few years I have thought a game warden was closest thing I could get to what I really wanted to do. I have since been introduced into the fish keeping hobby and now NANFA. Along with finding this amazing community of people, I have learned about natives and conservation. I have a passion for fish and I know that this is what I want my life to revolve around. What I have seen that has really caught my attention are these people going out to a river or creek and snorkeling, gathering data about fish populations, behaviors and such. Ever since I come across the little fish that don't get much attention, I have been fascinated by them.

I believe the job I mentioned above is something fisheries are over. Can someone give me the exact name of this, please? Or point me in the right direction?

#2 centrarchid

centrarchid
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 07 January 2017 - 09:29 AM

Stream / Fish Biologist comes to mine first.  Then you have academic / research posts which are often one and the same.  It can be a stretch but some fish hatchery positions now have a native fish component beyond game fish.  Also public aquariums and zoos.


Find ways for people not already interested in natives to value them.

#3 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 07 January 2017 - 06:58 PM

Do you want to be a cop with a slightly different focus? If so game warden or park ranger on the enforcement end might do. Otherwise you would want to concentrate more on non game biology/ichthyology. There are many here who can steer you right. I am sure you will get some good ideas.


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#4 KalebRinehart

KalebRinehart
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 07 January 2017 - 07:12 PM

Do you want to be a cop with a slightly different focus? If so game warden or park ranger on the enforcement end might do. Otherwise you would want to concentrate more on non game biology/ichthyology. There are many here who can steer you right. I am sure you will get some good ideas.

I definitely want to get more into the non game biology/ichthyology. Like I said the only reason I wanted to be a game warden was because I didn't know about any of this stuff. I find this far more interesting, I just needed a general name!

#5 KalebRinehart

KalebRinehart
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 07 January 2017 - 07:14 PM

Stream / Fish Biologist comes to mine first.  Then you have academic / research posts which are often one and the same.  It can be a stretch but some fish hatchery positions now have a native fish component beyond game fish.  Also public aquariums and zoos.

I don't know about the public aquarium part but the stream/fish biologist sounds more like what I'm interested in!

#6 gerald

gerald
  • Global Moderator
  • Wake Forest, North Carolina

Posted 08 January 2017 - 10:55 AM

Places the may hire aquatic biologists include state and federal fish & wildlife agencies, water quality agencies, city/county governments, electric power companies, universities (research technician jobs as well as teaching faculty), veterinary medicine schools, environmental consulting firms (that's what I do), fed/state/county park naturalists, museums, zoos & aquariums, pond & lake management companies, public & private aquaculture facilities (public ones are more likely to work with non-game species), ... other ideas?


Gerald Pottern
-----------------------
Hangin' on the Neuse
"Taxonomy is the diaper used to organize the mess of evolution into discrete packages" - M.Sandel


#7 fundulus

fundulus
  • Global Moderator

Posted 08 January 2017 - 10:59 AM

A broad undergraduate degree for much of this work would be Wildlife Biology or Management, or a basic Biology degree. A Master's degree in the subject from places like Auburn, Mississippi State or Tennessee Tech is even better.
Bruce Stallsmith, Huntsville, Alabama, US of A

#8 smbass

smbass
  • Board of Directors

Posted 08 January 2017 - 03:23 PM

Good school and grades do help but don't underestimate the power of getting to know people working in the field you want to get into. Every step of the way in my career I have been helped by already having a past interaction with the people hiring where I made a good impression on them. As you go through school make sure you volunteer or get summer internships in the field you want to end up in. It can be a very competitive career to get into and the pay is often not great but the work is rewarding knowing you are really making a difference.

Brian J. Zimmerman

Gambier, Ohio - Kokosing River Drainage


#9 sbtgrfan

sbtgrfan
  • NANFA Member
  • Charleston, SC

Posted 08 January 2017 - 03:38 PM

I can't echo Brian's words enough. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer. And intern when you can. You meet so many connections that way. I know personally, when I was applying for jobs, my degree is not what stood out. It's the fact that I had experience through volunteering and I knew people in the field I was applying for who gave me great recommendations. 

Plus volunteering in different areas helps you decide exactly where you want to go.


Stephen Beaman
Freshwater Aquarist
South Carolina Aquarium
Charleston, SC

#10 Matt DeLaVega

Matt DeLaVega
  • Forum Staff
  • Ohio

Posted 08 January 2017 - 04:18 PM

This is awesome stuff guys, and I think we would all like to see more of this. Professionals helping the younger crowd achieve their goals. Had I had some guidance back in 1991, I might not be a contractor today. But like Kaleb, all that kept coming up was game warden or ranger. Even went into military police in the army to get college money, and maybe some experience. A resource like this may have made a big difference!


The member formerly known as Skipjack


#11 KalebRinehart

KalebRinehart
  • NANFA Guest

Posted 09 January 2017 - 08:40 AM

Awesome, thank yall so much!

#12 ForTheHalibut

ForTheHalibut
  • NANFA Guest
  • New York, NY

Posted 25 January 2017 - 11:36 AM

Have you considered academia?  If you really stick your nose to the books, you could go the route of becoming a tenured ichthyologist at a university.  You would be expected to stay up to date in the field, teach, and perform your own research.  Unlike working as a private sector ichthyologist, there would not be as great of an expectation that your work product have commercial application: you could perform general research for the sake of better understanding rather than for the sake of improving game stocks or fish farm yields.





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