The Oyster Recovery Partnership (ORP) is seeking to hire a part-time Fisheries Dockside Monitor to support a project to verify daily charter boat and commercial oyster and clam harvest occurring in Western Maryland counties on the Chesapeake Bay (Eastern shore dockside monitors have already been hired).  Dockside monitors will be responsible for intercepting charter boat captains and commercial oyster and clam harvesters at the dock to verify harvest amounts and species during the offload process.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Dockside monitors will be expected to work independently from home to conduct weekly spot checks of charter boat, oyster, and clam harvest when the fisheries are active. The charter boat fishery is active between May 1 and Mid-December. Oyster and clam seasons will be active beginning in September and ending March 31st, 2022. Monitors will participate in multiple training events to learn harvest documentation procedures and other details required to affectively document harvest.  Dockside monitors will be provided tablet computers with software to schedule spot checks and document and submit monitored harvest.  Dockside monitors will be hired, managed, and paid through one of ORP’s project partner firm. ORP and its partners adhere to standard Covid-19 safety protocols that will be part of training and must be followed while interacting with commercial fishing representatives and the public.

  •  Monitors will be operational from May 2021 to March 2022 corresponding with charter boat and commercial oyster seasons in Maryland.
  •  Harvest occurs 7 days a week.  Monitors will operate daily within 4-hour time blocks.  Monitors will be scheduled between 3 and 4 days a week, 12 days a month total, but up to 7 days per week could occur under certain circumstances.

REQUIREMENTS

  • Reliable transportation to perform monitoring duties.
  • Effective communication and interview skills and ability to handle difficult interpersonal situations if they occur.
  • Ability to follow Covid-19 safety protocols.
  • Ability to work independently to intercept daily fishery offload locations.
  • Ability to understand specifics related to Maryland Chesapeake Bay fisheries, target species, and common terminology.
  • Competency using tablet computers, applications for data collection and reporting, measuring scales, or ability to learn.
  • Ability to maintain weekly schedule with and coordinate with project supervisor.
  • Ability to travel to other Chesapeake Bay regions outside of your own if needed.
  • Ability to lift 50 pounds.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

  • High school diploma or GED.
  • Reliable source of transportation for driving to harvest offload locations.
  • Ability to learn and follow harvest reporting guidelines and data collection procedures.
  • Interest in fisheries management.
  • Dockside monitoring provides an independent third-party process to verify charter boat harvest and qualified dockside monitors should not be affiliated with Maryland’s commercial fishing industry.

Monitors will be compensated for daily 4-hour time blocks at a rate of $13/hr.  Monitors will also be reimbursed for mileage using Maryland’s State mileage rate.

To apply, please send a resume to Jennifer Walters, jwalters@oysterrecovery.org.

No phone calls, please.