Description
Plan, direct, and coordinate operations of a fish or shellfish hatchery, overseeing broodstock management, spawning, incubation, and rearing. Hire, train, and supervise hatchery staff; manage biosecurity, water quality, facilities, budgets, and compliance. Coordinate stocking, sales, and logistics, and oversee record-keeping, maintenance, and marketing.
- • Plan, schedule, and oversee spawning, egg collection, incubation, hatching, and fry/fingerling rearing.
- • Collect and record growth, survival, feed conversion, and environmental data.
- • Monitor and manage water quality parameters, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia, nitrite, and salinity.
- • Implement and enforce biosecurity and fish health protocols to prevent disease.
- • Conduct or supervise health examinations to detect diseases, parasites, or stress.
- • Coordinate selection, conditioning, and maintenance of broodstock.
- • Direct and monitor trapping, spawning, fertilization, and egg disinfection procedures.
- • Optimize production plans, species mix, and lot sizes based on permits, budgets, and market or stocking needs.
- • Program and regulate life-support systems, including aeration, filtration, oxygenation, and recirculating aquaculture controls.
- • Inspect tanks, raceways, ponds, and equipment; schedule and perform maintenance and repairs.
- • Develop and follow feeding regimes and grading schedules to achieve target growth and uniformity.
- • Direct and monitor transfers and stocking of fish to ponds, lakes, streams, or customer systems.
- • Coordinate packing, transport, and acclimation procedures to minimize stress and mortality.
- • Prepare and submit required reports to state and federal agencies.
- • Maintain financial, operational, inventory, and employment records.
- • Hire, train, schedule, and supervise hatchery technicians and seasonal staff.
- • Determine resource allocation and respond to emergencies such as equipment failure, oxygen depletion, contamination, or extreme weather.
- • Procure feed, chemicals, oxygen, equipment, broodstock, and supplies; manage vendor relationships.
- • Evaluate marketing, sales, and distribution options for hatchery products.
- • Negotiate contracts or pricing for fish sales, stocking services, or research collaborations.
- • Develop and enforce safety policies, environmental compliance, and standard operating procedures.
- • Plan and supervise construction or upgrades of tanks, raceways, piping, filtration, and monitoring systems.
- • Calibrate and maintain sensors, meters, alarms, and control systems.
- • Analyze production data to improve hatch rates, survival, growth, and cost efficiency.
- • Coordinate record-keeping, inventory counts, and requisitioning activities.
- • Oversee chemical handling and water treatment applications in compliance with regulations.
- • Engage with customers and partners to provide guidance on transport, stocking, and post-release care.
- • Monitor daily operations to ensure adherence to animal welfare and quality standards.
- • Obtain financing or prepare budgets for capital projects and operating needs.
- • Conduct risk assessments and implement contingency plans for disease outbreaks or system failures.
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O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
