Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences - AAS-T
If you have a love for the great outdoors and an interest in biology and wildlife, consider an Associate of Applied Science Transfer degree in the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences program at BTC. You can prepare for a rewarding career as a fish hatchery specialist, fish culturist, fisheries technician, shellfish hatchery worker, scientific aid, water quality technician, or in habitat restoration.
You’ll learn high-demand skills like fish culture, aqua culture, and fish spawning that will position you for a rewarding career in the fisheries industry. Instruction takes place in the classroom as well as at the Whatcom Creek Hatchery at the Maritime Heritage Park in Bellingham, which is operated by BTC’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences program.
Employment Information
Data are provided on a program (not credential) level
66%1 BTC graduate placement rate (Employment Security Department- WA and OR only)
97%3 BTC graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
82%3 BTC in-field graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
$43,852 starting annual wage2
$52,020 average annual wage2
$64,445 potential annual wage2
- Employment and Wage Data Sources and Information
1Employment data come from the Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) and reflect WA/OR employment for students enrolled at BTC between 2016-17 and 2018-19. Students are included in the employment rate if they left with a credential. Rates are not shown for programs with fewer than 10 students meeting the above criteria.
2Wage data come from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) 2020 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates (Washington State wage) and reflect 2015-2018 employment. Wage data represent occupations that BTC faculty have identified as the most relevant career paths for program graduates. Note that these wages reflect employees with varying educational levels/credentials. For cases in which multiple occupations have been identified by faculty, a weighted percentile is calculated using each occupation’s percentile wage and employment size estimate. Wages are not shown for programs for which occupations do not meet the ESD’s minimum thresholds for publishing. If the program has wage data from the Washington SBCTC that involves shift work, these ESD wages reflect the same number of hours used in the annual wage calculation. Starting wage = 25th percentile, median wage = 50th percentile, wage potential = 75th percentile.
3Additional employment rates are provided for programs with faculty who maintain their own employment records of students who graduated between 2016-17 and 2018-19. The rates reflect employment within 9 months of graduation, both overall and within their field of study. These additional, faculty-provided rates are particularly important for programs that tend to have graduates employed outside of WA and OR, as the Washington State ESD does not provide data on those graduates. Note that due to lack of available data, rates may represent fewer than 3 years of graduates.
Estimated Program Costs