Summary
Overview
Work History
Education
Skills
Certification
Accomplishments
Additional Experience: Expedition through Peruvian Amazon January 2019
Relevant Courses
References
Timeline
Generic
Alex Walczyk

Alex Walczyk

Prince William Sound,Alaska

Summary

Four years of academic experience studying fisheries and aquaculture, complemented by a decade of practical hatchery work. Demonstrated expertise in fish management, and a strong commitment to environmental conservation. Proficient in operating heavy machinery, and eager to expand knowledge in wildlife management. Highly motivated, with a proven strong work ethic, the ability to adapt, excel in challenging situations, and the ability to thrive both independently and in team settings while mastering new skills. Dedicated outdoorsman with extensive experience and passion for hunting, fishing, and hiking, fostering a deep appreciation for nature, and contributing to a well-rounded understanding of different ecosystems.

Overview

11
11
years of professional experience
1
1
Certification

Work History

Lead Fish Culturist 2

Prince William Sound Aquaculture Association
Main Bay, PWS, AK
01.2024 - Current
  • Fill in for assistant manager and manager in their absence. (Acting assistant manager 1/14/24-3/27/24, 4/12/25- 7/21/25)
  • Lived and worked in a remote location only accessible by boat, float plane, or helicopter. Alert and present to respond to emergency and process alarms.
  • Performed professional and technical activities in the culture and distribution of Sockeye salmon such as care and maintenance of brood fish, collection of broodstock and broodstock gametes, fertilization, incubation, rearing, stocking of fry/outmigration, along with assisting in the collection of samples in the field while maintaining records and activity reports.
  • Conducted routine chemical treatments to prevent disease as well as otolith marking techniques on eggs/fry. Assist in water sample collection and testing.
  • Tasked with leading various crews and supervising fish culturist 1’s, and seasonal technicians for projects such as eggtakes (of up to 12.4 million Sockeye) and egg pick for salmon. As well as rearing up to an additional 12.4 million sockeye smolt.
  • Performed semi-skilled construction, fabrication and maintenance of the hatchery buildings, grounds, hatchery systems, floating net-pens/ rearing complex, and equipment.
  • Facilitated and operated boats for transportation, mortality/feed barges and net pen relocation.

Assistant Hatchery Manager

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
Tutka Bay Lagoon, Alaska
03.2022 - 06.2023
  • Seasonal fish culturist May 2018- March 2019, Acting assistant manager July 2018- February 2019. Lead fish culturist March 2022. Assistant Manager April 2022. Acting manager & assistant manager late April 2022 through July 2022.
  • Provided assistance and support in a safe, professional, and cost effective manner
  • Lived and worked in a remote location only accessible (tide depending) by boat, float plane, or helicopter. Alert and present to respond to emergency and process alarms.
  • Performed professional and technical activities in the culture and distribution of Pink salmon and Sockeye salmon such as care and maintenance of brood fish, collection of broodstock and broodstock gametes, fertilization, incubation, rearing, stocking of fry/outmigration, along with assisting in the collection of samples in the field while maintaining records and activity reports.
  • Conducted routine chemical treatments to prevent disease as well as otolith marking techniques on eggs/fry.
  • Tasked with leading various crews and supervising all staff for projects such as eggtakes (of up to 125 million pinks and 6 million sockeye) and egg pick for salmon.
  • Performed semi-skilled construction, fabrication and maintenance of the hatchery buildings, grounds, hatchery systems, floating net-pens/ rearing complex, fish weir and equipment.
  • Facilitated and operated boats for transportation, mortality barges and net pen relocation.
  • Conducted safety inspections and training.
  • Lead staff member responsible for rewriting standard operating procedure manual and fish culture excel spreadsheets.
  • Organized transport and supply boats.
  • Responsible for new staff onboarding and giving hatchery tours to visitors.
  • Strong verbal and written communication skills
  • Conducted performance evaluations for fish culturists and seasonal technicians

Fish Culturist 1

Prince William Sound Aquaculture Association
Evans Island, Alaska
06.2020 - 02.2022
  • Lived and worked in a remote location only accessible by boat, float plane, or helicopter. Alert and present to respond to emergency and process alarms.
  • Performed professional and technical activities in the culture and distribution of Pink salmon and Chum salmon such as care and maintenance of brood fish, collection of broodstock and broodstock gametes, fertilization, incubation, rearing, stocking of fry/outmigration, along with assisting in the collection of samples in the field while maintaining records and activity reports.
  • Conducted routine chemical treatments to prevent disease as well as otolith marking techniques on eggs/fry.
  • Tasked with leading various crews and supervising seasonal technicians for projects such as eggtakes (of up to 190 million pinks and 30 million chum) and egg pick.
  • Performed semi-skilled construction, fabrication and maintenance of the hatchery buildings, grounds, hatchery systems, floating net-pens/ rearing complex, and equipment.
  • Facilitated and operated boats for transportation, mortality barges and net pen relocation.

Wildlife Technician/ Hunting & Fishing Guide

Tres Bahias
Port Lavaca, Texas
10.2019 - 06.2020
  • Additionally worked as a Ranch Hand and worked in Guest entertainment
  • Assist in daily operations of a 10,000 acre ranch on the Gulf Coast
  • Maintenance, repairs, installation and operation of hunting blinds, state of the art sport clay houses, feeder stations, and trail cameras.
  • Assist in detailed logging of Whitetail and Axis deer tracking age, health, antler growth/regression, and habitat
  • Locating new feeder spots, checking and filling feeders with protein supplements, corn, milo, and other forage.
  • Habitat restoration projects and disking for food plots
  • Wildlife harvest, data collection, predator and pest control
  • Assist and guide hunters for deer, dove, wild pigs, sandhill cranes, quail and waterfowl, assist in trophy care and meat processing of game
  • Assist and guide guests fishing from the pier, the water banks, 32ft power boat, jet skis, and kayaks, assist in trophy care and meat processing of fish
  • Assist in management practices of the ranch for the betterment of the wildlife
  • Perform prescribed burns implementing back burns, burn breaks and the use of drip torches
  • Assist in cattle herd management
  • Operation of heavy machinery such as tractors (with attachments), bulldozer, skid steer (with attachments), zero turn mower, front end loader, steam/road roller, side by side, 4-wheeler, and backhoe.
  • Assisted with the ranches apiary in taken care of the bees and collecting honey.

Seasonal Fish Culturist

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
Tutka Bay Lagoon, Alaska
06.2018 - 03.2019
  • Acting assistant manager from July 2018 to February 2019.
  • Lived and worked in a remote location only accessible (tide depending) by boat, float plane, or helicopter. Alert and present to respond to emergencies and process alarms.
  • Performed professional and technical activities in the culture and distribution of Pink salmon and Sockeye salmon such as care and maintenance of brood fish, collection of broodstock and broodstock gametes, fertilization, incubation, rearing, stocking of fry/outmigration, along with assisting in the collection of samples in the field while maintaining records and activity reports.
  • Conducted routine chemical treatments to prevent disease as well as otolith marking techniques on eggs/fry.
  • Tasked with leading various crews and supervising all staff for projects such as eggtakes (of up to 125 million pinks and 6 million sockeye) and egg pick for salmon.
  • Performed semi-skilled construction, fabrication and maintenance of the hatchery buildings, grounds, hatchery systems, floating net-pens/ rearing complex, fish weir and equipment.
  • Facilitated and operated boats for transportation, mortality barges and net pen relocation.
  • Conducted safety inspections and training.
  • Organized transport and supply boats.

Assistant Hatchery Manager

Cobleskill Hatchery
Cobleskill, New York
11.2014 - 05.2018
  • Fish Technician from Nov-2014-Dec 2015, Fish Culturist from Jan 2016-Dec 2016, Assistant Manager from May 2017-May 2018.
  • Supervised fishery technicians and culturists to ensure operational efficiency.
  • Acted as manager during absence of direct supervisor, maintaining workflow continuity.
  • Facilitated spawning, sorting, and sampling of various fish and invertebrate species including but not limited to brown trout, tiger trout, brook trout, arctic hybrid char, lake whitefish, pugnose shiner, walleye, paddlefish, African cichlid, clownfish, tilapia, freshwater prawn, blue crayfish, and feeder fish.
  • Maintained optimal habitat stability in both cold and warm water hatchery systems.
  • Collected pathological samples and accurately diagnosed diseases in aquatic species.
  • Monitored water quality parameters to support healthy fish rearing conditions.
  • Organized data sheets for feed conversion, mortality rates, growth metrics, and egg production reports.

Education

Bachelor of Technology - Fisheries and Aquaculture

State University of New York at Cobleskill
Cobleskill, NY
05.2018

Associate in Applied Science - Fisheries and Wildlife Technology

State University of New York at Cobleskill
Cobleskill, NY
12.2016

Skills

  • Fish culture
  • Disease management
  • Hatchery operations & management
  • Water quality testing
  • Heavy machinery operation
  • Effective communication
  • Emergency response
  • Team leadership

Use of passive and active fish sampling gear such as:

  • Fyke nets
  • Shore Seine
  • Fish weir/trap
  • Emergent fry trap
  • Slinky pot
  • Parlor pot
  • Round pot
  • Pyramid pot
  • Cage trap
  • Personal and commercial gillnet
  • Longline
  • Cast nets
  • Dip net
  • Boat electroshocker
  • Backpack Electroshocker
  • Rod and reel

Use of various fish anesthetics such as:

  • MS-222
  • Clove oil
  • C02
  • Barbasco
  • Rotenone

Use of various fish disease/ stressor treatments such as:

  • Salt
  • Peroxide
  • Formalin
  • Chloramine-T
  • Terramycin
  • IHN plasmid vaccine
  • Betadine/Iodine

Experience with different type of incubation and rearing systems such as:

  • NOPAD
  • Kitoi boxes
  • Shock totes
  • Heath Stacks
  • Macdonald jar
  • Recirculation systems with round tanks and raceways
  • Flow through systems with start tanks and raceways
  • Saltwater rearing with HDPE net pens and wavemasters
  • Pond rearing
  • High tunnels
  • Aquaponics

Experience with different types of water quality and sampling gear such as:

  • Underwater ROV
  • pH, salinity, conductivity, oxygen, TDG, hardness, temperature, nitrite/nitrate, phosphorus meters
  • Microscopes
  • Biofilters
  • Imhoff cones
  • Spectrometer
  • Double and single wheel jensorter egg picker
  • JM8 Jensorter egg picker
  • Secci disc
  • Plankton net
  • Kemmerer bottles
  • Various aeration systems
  • Various degassing systems

Other gear and sampling methods:

  • Trail cameras
  • Aerial drones
  • Snares
  • Footholds
  • Box traps
  • Kill style body grip traps
  • Scale samples
  • Otolith samples
  • Aging
  • Length and weight
  • Feed conversion
  • Biomass/ Density
  • Population density
  • Environmental biomass capacity
  • Predator-prey ratios
  • Species interaction
  • Creel surveys
  • Fertility
  • Fecundity
  • Zephyr gun/ captive bolt gun

Various types of mark and recapture sampling:

  • T-tags
  • Jaw tags
  • Internal radio tags
  • Pit tags
  • Backpack and collar radio tags for avian and mammals
  • Radio Telemetry
  • Leg bands
  • Drop traps
  • Net cannons
  • Pitfalls

Knowledge is all aspects of rearing fish from:

  • Egg take: ripeness checks, spawning, bucking, fertilization, disinfection
  • Incubation: shock and pick, hatch, yolk samples, alevin care, outmigration
  • Grow-out: rearing to fry, then fingerling, then smolt, then to adulthood

Experience working with a variety of fish species including:

  • Sockeye salmon
  • Pink salmon
  • Chum salmon
  • Brown trout
  • Brook trout
  • Arctic char
  • Hybrid Arctic char x brook trout
  • Endangered lake whitefish
  • Endangered pugnose shiners
  • Walleye
  • Paddlefish
  • Tilapia
  • Clownfish
  • African cichlids
  • Plecos
  • Guppies
  • Blue crayfish
  • Freshwater prawn
  • Freshwater mussels
  • Algae propagation
  • Rotifer and plankton propagation

Experience working with a variety of other species including:

  • Whitetail deer
  • Ring-necked pheasants
  • Bobwhite quail
  • Wild turkeys
  • Axis deer
  • Dove
  • Wild hogs
  • Waterfowl (ducks)
  • Cattle
  • Chickens
  • Horses

Small furbearers and reptiles (nuisance trapping and population control) such as raccoons, opossums, coyotes, mink, marten, wolverine, river otters, squirrels, snakes, turtles, armadillos, and alligators

Proficient is operating different types of boats from 6-32ft such as:

  • Kayak
  • Pontoon
  • Catamaran
  • Flat bottom
  • Deep V
  • Aluminum
  • Fiberglass
  • Inboard
  • Outboard
  • Trolling
  • Push/tow barges of up to 30,000 lbs

Proficient use in heavy machinery such as:

  • Skid steer with various attachments
  • Front-end loader with various attachments
  • Steam roller
  • Tractor with various attachments
  • Excavator
  • Zero-turn mower
  • Backhoe

Proficient in the use of most power tools and hand tools

Experienced with multiple types of photography and photography gear such as:

  • DSLR cameras
  • Polaroid cameras
  • GoPro sport-style cameras
  • Aerial drone cameras
  • ROV, underwater cameras
  • Specialized in wildlife, landscape, and action photography

Basic Knowledge and understanding of carpentry, electrical, plumbing, masonry, and mechanical maintenance

Hobbies:

  • Fishing
  • Hunting
  • Trapping
  • Photography
  • Hiking
  • Taxidermy
  • Camping
  • Boating/ kayaking

Certification

  • First Aid, CPR, And AED
  • Emergency Trauma Technician
  • Fork Lift & Heavy Machinery
  • Respirator and Chemical Treatment
  • Commercial Food Safety & Sanitation

Accomplishments

  • SUNY Cobleskill Excellence in Student Leadership Award, 2017
  • SUNY Cobleskill Dean's List, 2016

Additional Experience: Expedition through Peruvian Amazon January 2019

  • Conducted an extensive study of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest habitats, and the ecology of native flora and fauna.
  • Lived remotely 60 miles downriver from Iquitos, Peru, in collaborative settings.
  • Lived off the land in close quarters with several others, working both in groups and as individuals.
  • Cultivated relationships with local communities to deepen cultural understanding.
  • Surveyed diverse water systems, documenting organisms, including fish, reptiles, birds, and plants.
  • Maintained detailed photographic, video, and written logs of observations.
  • Sampled under adverse conditions, such as unfavorable weather, rough terrain, and constant biting insects, while maintaining awareness of hazards in the vicinity.
  • Explored cultural practices and traditions across multiple villages to understand different ways of life.

Relevant Courses

  • Aquaculture Engineering
  • Aquaculture, Hatchery, & Fisheries Techniques
  • Aquatic & Marine Resource Management
  • Environmental Law & Regulation
  • Fish & Wildlife Field Studies
  • Fish Biology
  • Fish Nutrition
  • Fisheries Research
  • Fisheries Science
  • Geographic Information Systems
  • Invertebrate Zoology
  • Marine & Aquatic Ecology
  • Natural Resource Conservation
  • Production Aquaculture/Mariculture
  • Soil Science
  • Statistical Methods & Spreadsheet & Database Applications
  • Water Chemistry
  • Wetlands Assessment & Delineation
  • Wildlife Law Enforcement & PR
  • Wildlife Policy and Regulatory Compliance
  • Wildlife, Fisheries, Pond, & Fish Hatchery Management

References

References available upon request.

Timeline

Lead Fish Culturist 2

Prince William Sound Aquaculture Association
01.2024 - Current

Assistant Hatchery Manager

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
03.2022 - 06.2023

Fish Culturist 1

Prince William Sound Aquaculture Association
06.2020 - 02.2022

Wildlife Technician/ Hunting & Fishing Guide

Tres Bahias
10.2019 - 06.2020

Seasonal Fish Culturist

Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association
06.2018 - 03.2019

Assistant Hatchery Manager

Cobleskill Hatchery
11.2014 - 05.2018

Bachelor of Technology - Fisheries and Aquaculture

State University of New York at Cobleskill

Associate in Applied Science - Fisheries and Wildlife Technology

State University of New York at Cobleskill

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Alex Walczyk