Volunteering at fish hatcheries?

[BGSH]

Was curious if anyone has ever volunteered at a fish hatchery before, what to expect?? Thankyou for any information.

[bloopbloob]

You could maybe get your foot in the door by volunteering at Joey's Only....? Having to wear a hairnet might be a problem though...

[BGSH]

Originally Posted by bloopbloob

You could maybe get your foot in the door by volunteering at Joey's Only....? Having to wear a hairnet might be a problem though...

ummm ok?

[DuckBrat]

If your ever in Kitimat offer your services at the hatchery there. A great experience.

[BCSteel]

It can be surprisingly difficult sometimes to become a hatchery volunteer. There are many people that think thy want to help out but end up becoming no shows when it comes to crunch time. Because of this if you can get in, (I've had one hatchery tell me that I'd be better off applying for a job there because they just don't deal with volunteers anymore) a lot of the work to begin with will be janitor type stuff until you've proven that you are consistently reliable.

Once you're in though they are very appreciative of the work and will become very accommodating to what times and events you can make it too. I've been trying to find some fisheries volunteer stuff out here in AB since I moved here from BC several months ago but no dice so far :s

[Guitarplayingfish]

Expect to clean a lot of tanks, hands on scrubbing. Other things include feeding, monitoring pH levels and Dissolved oxygen levels. Lots of cleaning again... hahaha.

[DanJ]

I was a member of the Sam Livingston Fish Hatchery Volunteer Society for many years, President for three. I believe they are now Friends of Bow Habitat Station.

Back then, all the volunteers were tour guides. I loved it. I had hundreds of conversations with interesting people. We never did crappy work like mopping floors; we looked forward to opportunities to sort fish, go on stocking trips and present education programs in schools, and give groups like scout troops an interesting couple of hours' education and diversion.

If you have a chance to volunteer for a fish hatchery you should take it. Expect to learn a lot of interesting stuff about fish physiology, game management and to meet a lot of like-minded people.

If you choose to donate your time to a government-run hatchery - ie, giving your precious leisure time to the government - make certain that they are using the time you give them well. Don't let them waste it.

Dan Jarrell