Fishery Biologist 2 - Field Logistics Sucker Fish Monitoring Project

Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission is recruiting candidates to fill the role of a Fishery Biologist 2 to work closely with U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) researchers at the Klamath Falls Field Station (KFFS) on adult fish monitoring. This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position with an anticipated start date of January 4th, 2026. Please review required application materials and the closing disclaimer in the below sections. Closing Disclaimer: PSMFC will not accept resumes or cover letters for any position once the job announcement has been removed from the Careers Page. PSMFC will begin reviewing submitted applications the week of November 16, 2026 and may begin interviewing as soon as the week of November 23, 2026. PSMFC reserves the right to remove a job announcement at any time for any reason or close the position prior to the posted close date once a sufficient number of applicants have been received. The USGS KFFS has been tracking individual Lost River and Shortnose suckers — two long-lived, endangered fish species — for more than two decades. The incumbent would be leading the field logistics behind adult sucker monitoring, from running boats and maintaining Passive Integrated Transponder tag (PIT-tag) detection equipment to scheduling and coordinating field crews through back-to-back spring and fall field seasons. You'll also get exposure to juvenile sucker work and fin-ray aging and genetic sampling across both life stages, giving you a rare full-life-cycle view of an endangered species most biologists never get. If you're someone who's at your best running field operations, keeping equipment and crews moving, and wants real ownership over how a season comes together, we'd like to hear from you. Group Definition : Fishery Biologists use professional knowledge and competence in the science of fishery biology to perform work: (a) developing, conserving, propagating, managing, and administering fishery resources; (b) evaluating the impact of construction projects and other socioeconomic activities that present potential or actual adverse effects on fishery resources and their habitat; and (c) producing and managing aquatic resources in their natural habitat and/or within facilities and systems that have been constructed for their benefit and public use. Position/Project Specifics: This position offers the opportunity to contribute to research on rare and imperiled fishes in the Klamath Basin, generating information that helps managers make informed decisions about resource use in a sensitive arid ecosystem. You'll work within a long-term research program that has tracked endangered Lost River and Shortnose suckers for decades using PIT tags as part of a capture-recapture effort, while contributing to an expanding acoustic telemetry program investigating seasonal movement, survival, and habitat use. Through this work, you'll help connect adult survival, juvenile recruitment, and lake conditions to sucker recovery actions and water-management decisions in the Basin. The incumbent's primary responsibility will be coordinating a single research project centered on adult sucker monitoring, working as part of an established and collaborative research team. The project involves standardized field sampling, aging, and genetic species identification of adult and juvenile suckers across Upper Klamath Lake and/or Clear Lake Reservoir, which occurs primarily during the spring and late fall field season. This position also manages and coordinates field crew schedules to install and maintain remote PIT tag detection equipment and seasonal field sampling events, and manages day-to-day maintenance on boats and vehicles to ensure continuous operation and availability to accommodate the busy field schedule. Outside of the adult sampling season, this position will support a variety of other station needs as they arise, depending on current priorities This additional work may include: supporting acoustic telemetry effo…

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