Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation employs 45 full-time, regular employees. The four remote hatcheries in Prince William Sound have 28 staff who live year-round at the sites. Our non-remote, Gulkana Hatchery, in interior Alaska, operates only seven months per year and 5 regular staff members live on-site during that time. The administrative office in Cordova employs eight regular staff.
Most of the employees in regular staff positions at the hatcheries began as Fisheries Technicians (temporary summer help). There is great opportunity for advancement to almost any position available: Fish Culturist, Assistant Hatchery Manager, Hatchery Manager, Maintenance Assistant, or Maintenance Supervisor. Although PWSAC believes in training and promoting from within the organization, we occasionally recruit from "outside". We are always on the lookout for career-oriented, talented individuals who may bring expertise and knowledge to our organization.
PWSAC offers, our regular employees, a generous benefits package that includes annual leave, medical insurance, life insurance, and a self-funded 403(b) retirement package. Regular hatchery employees receive paid housing and utilities.
The Cordova administrative office consists of the following departments: Operations, Finance, Human Resources and Sales. The town of Cordova is a small, semi-remote commercial fishing community of about 2,500 people in the winter, blossoming to 5,000 in the summer months. Cordova is only accessible by boat or plane. It has a very low crime rate, no traffic jams, very little pollution, and excellent recreational opportunities. The cost of living in Cordova is higher than other communities in Alaska which have road access.
We hire approximately 75 temporary employees to work at five salmon hatcheries during different periods of the year. Duties include general hatchery operations such as loading/unloading adult fish from vessels, feeding fish, tagging, taking and fertilizing eggs, routine care of incubating eggs, clean-up details, and maintenance. Most of the work is "hands-on" labor, relatively strenuous, and accomplished outdoors in a cool/wet environment. Temporary positions may be as short as four weeks or as long as ten months. A large percentage of employees are rehired to fill available positions.
We begin the new hiring process each December. All applications are carefully reviewed and selection of candidates is based on, but not limited to, previous hatchery experience, and college education in fisheries, biology or related studies. Although these criteria are desired, they are not a requirement.
There are four periods of employment:
Spring: (February, March, April, May) About 45 employees monitor the newly emerged fry (baby fish) which are released from the incubators into the ocean environment, a process called "outmigration". After outmigration and incubation cleanup, about a third of the crew is laid off, between the months of May and June.
Summer: (June, July, early August) About 30 employees who were hired in the spring will remain on-site during the summer. Usually we have short term openings, four to six weeks, during this period. During the summer, most of the hatcheries are conducting "cost recovery" and "brood stock collection". Cost recovery is simply the catching and selling of fish which is how our program funds itself. Male and female brood stock are collected to obtain eggs and sperm for fertilization.
Late Summer: (late August to mid September) "Egg-take" begins in early July for chum salmon but the largest egg-take starts around the third week of August for pink salmon. This requires approximately 40 employees and is when we do most of our hiring. Egg-take is completed at the end of September. If you are hired for this period, you must be able to stay through that date.
Fall: (mid-September to mid November) About 32 employees are selected to stay for fall clean-up. At this time, the hatcheries are cleaned up and prepared for the winter months. By November, the staff is reduced to about 12 employees.
Four of our five hatcheries are truly remote; there are no roads, stores, or any other people living nearby. The sites are modern (it is not a tent camp!), TVs, telephones and Internet are available. The sites also utilize voice-over-internet and satellite phone communications. Recreational opportunities include fishing, hiking, boating, etc. You must bring all personal items with you. The only special items you are required to bring are heavyweight raingear and rubber boots. Fish Techs begin at $9.00 per hour, regardless of experience or education. Room and board is provided. The point of hire for the hatcheries is Cordova. You must provide your own airfare to Cordova, where we will provide a float plane ride to the hatcheries on the Sound, or plane and bus transportation to the Gulkana Hatchery.
In addition to Fish Techs, we also hire cooks and people with maintenance skills. Be sure to note your experience on the application for employment if you are interested.
If you will be coming to Alaska to look for work, be sure to call once you get here. We may have last minute hires or cancellations that need to be filled. Due to the large numbers of applications and resumes received, not everyone will be contacted. There is no deadline date to apply.Back to PWSAC Home Page