Fish Biologist
What you'd do
This position is located within the Department of the Interior, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Region 3, Iron River National Fish Hatchery, located in Iron River, Wisconsin.
Major duties
Some of the major duties you will perform include but are not limited to the following: Plans and carry out daily activities of the production operation. This includes rearing techniques and procedures for cold water fish. Maintains records of fish production and distribution. Plans, schedules, and makes fish distribution trips. Assists in the spawning, rearing, harvesting, and inventory of fish by providing work direction and advice to lower grade employees. Reviews and innovates changes in procedures and techniques to advance fish husbandry as appropriate. Observes fish for signs of stress or disease. Assists in providing proper maintenance of grounds, buildings, and hatchery equipment by providing work direction to maintenance personnel. Duties will be developmental in nature when filled below the full performance level.
What you need to qualify
All qualifications must be met by the closing date of this announcement - 08/12/2026-unless otherwise stated in this vacancy announcement. Competitive candidates must also meet Time-in-Grade requirements as defined in 5 CFR 300, Subpart F. For current Federal employees, if hours worked per week are not included on your resume, you must submit a non-award SF-50 as part of your application to be used to validate your work schedule and determine the amount of specialized experience that you will be granted. An award SF-50 will not be acceptable documentation for which to consider your amount of qualifying experience. For periods of time that reflect military service, the DD-214 or Statement of Service is sufficient to meet the work schedule requirement as the service dates will be reflected. For all other applicants who are not current federal employees, your resume must state either "full-time" (or "40 hours a week") or "part-time" with the number of hours worked per week to ensure proper crediting of specialized experience. To qualify for this position, you must meet the following Basic Educational Requirement and Minimum Qualification Requirements:. Basic Educational Requirements: In addition to the specialized experience requirements for this position, you must meet at least one of the following: A. Degree: Possess a degree in biological science that included (a) at least 6 semester hours in aquatic subjects such as limnology, ichthyology, fishery biology, aquatic botany, aquatic fauna, oceanography, fish culture, or related courses in the field of fishery biology; AND (b) at least 12 semester hours in the animal sciences in such subjects as general zoology, vertebrate zoology, comparative anatomy, physiology, entomology, parasitology, ecology, cellular biology, genetics, or research in these fields. (Excess course work in aquatic subjects may be used to meet this requirement when appropriate.). You must submit transcripts. -OR- B. Combination of education and experience: Possess a combination of education and experience that included courses equivalent to a major in biological science (i.e., at least 30 semester hours), of which a minimum of 6 semester hours were in aquatic subjects and 12 semester hours were in the animal sciences, as shown in above, PLUS appropriate experience or additional education. This combination of education and experience is comparable to successful completion of a full 4-year course of study as described above. Minimum Qualification Requirements (GS-07): Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-05 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: conducting daily culture activities including egg care, feeding, and cleaning; performing technical fish culture duties such as weighing, sorting, and sampling fish; monitoring fish for health concerns; and hauling and stocking fish. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least one year (18 semester hours) of graduate education in biology or a closely related field which provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully complete the work of the position.. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts. -OR- Superior Academic Achievement (SAA): Successfully completed a bachelor's degree in a directly related field AND meet one of the following: (1) Class Standing: rank in the upper 3rd of the graduating class in the college, university, or major subdivision, based on the completed courses; OR (2) Grad-Point Average (GPA): earn a GPA of (a) 3.0 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on 4 years of education, or based on courses completed during the final 2 years of the curriculum -or- (b) 3.5 or higher out of a possible 4.0 ("B" or better) based on the average of the required courses completed in the major field, or the required courses completed during the final two years. Note: GPA will be rounded to the one decimal place, for example, 2.95 = 3.0, 2.94 = 2.9; OR (3) Membership in a National Scholastic Honor Society. Minimum Qualification Requirements (GS-09): Experience: To qualify, you must possess at least one full year of specialized experience equivalent to the GS-07 level in the Federal service (obtained in either the public or private sectors). Specialized experience is defined as demonstrated experience: assisting with coordination of daily fish culture activities including egg care, feeding, and cleaning; weighing, sorting, and sampling; monitoring fish health and determining appropriate responses; hauling and stocking fish; and helping plan and document spawning, rearing, harvesting, and inventory activities. You must include hours per week worked. -OR- Education: Successful completion of at least two years (36 semester hours) of progressively higher level graduate education leading to a master's degree or master's or equivalent graduate degree closely related field which clearly provided me with the knowledge, skills, and abilities to successfully complete the work of the position. You must include transcripts. -OR- Combination of education and experience as listed above. The total must equal at least 100 percent to qualify. You must include hours per week and transcripts. Volunteer Experience: Experience refers to paid and unpaid experience, including volunteer work done through National Service programs (e.g., Peace Corps, AmeriCorps) and other organizations (e.g., professional; philanthropic; religious; spiritual; community, student, social). Volunteer work helps build critical competencies, knowledge, and skills and can provide valuable training and experience that translates directly to paid employment. You will receive credit for all qualifying experience, including volunteer experience.
Before you apply
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