Fisheries and Aquaculture Techniques

Fisheries and Aquaculture Techniques - Certificate

Want to fast-track your education? The Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques Certificate focuses on applied, technical skill development in just nine months to maximize learning with a minimal time commitment. This certificate is ideal for students exploring new career pathways, established industry members desiring additional training, or those wishing to supplement their bachelor’s degree with hands-on experience.

Certificate students wishing to learn more advanced topics for higher employment placement may apply all Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques certificate course credits towards an AAS or AAS-T in Fisheries & Aquaculture Sciences. Upon completion of the Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques Certificate, students also receive the Aquaculture Science Certificate of Completion.

Fisheries and Aquaculture Sciences Video

Employment Information

Data are provided on a program (not credential) level

63%¹ BTC graduate placement rate (Employment Security Department- WA and OR only)
96%³ BTC graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)
78%³ BTC in-field graduate placement rate (faculty-tracked, national)

$46,473 starting annual wage²
$53,133 average annual wage²
$64,731 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 2017-18 and 2019-20. 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.

²Whatcom County and WA State wage data come from Washington State Employment Security Department (ESD) 2021 Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates and reflect 2018-21 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 2017-18 and 2019-20 and who were employed within 9 months of graduation. Both overall and in field of study employment rates are included, respectively. For these programs, the format follows: ESD rate / faculty-tracked overall rate / faculty-tracked in-field rate. These additional, faculty-provided rates are particularly important for programs that tend to have graduates employed outside of WA and OR. Note that due to lack of available data, rates may represent fewer than 3 years of graduates.

Estimated Program Costs
Estimated costs based on 3 quarters to complete this program
The first quarter of study will likely be more expensive as students pay for materials needed to start the program.
Average Tuition and Fees per Quarter: $2,400
Average cost per credit: $185
Total Tuition and Fees: $7,200
Total Tools: $25 - $35
Total Materials: $75
Total Clothing: $1,100
Average annual cost of living in Bellingham
Living expenses (housing and food): $16,512
Transportation: $1,935
Miscellaneous/Personal: $1,800
TOTAL: $20,247

Tuition Fees and Rates overview page

Entry Information

When Can I Start?

This program typically starts in Fall or Spring Quarters on a space available basis.

What are the Minimum Entry Requirements?

Admissions application and assessment testing in Reading, Math and Writing is required. Your score on the test and/or your previous transcripts will determine where you begin your course sequence. Contact Admissions at 360.752.8345 or at admissions@btc.edu for assistance with academic planning.

What are My Next Steps?

1. Apply to BTC and Financial Aid
2. Assess Your Starting Point
3. Advising & Registration
4. Prepare to Attend

Classes

Total Program Credits: 39

Current Students: Learn how to use this page to register for classes
You are now able to sign up for classes in ctcLink using the class list below. It requires certain steps to work smoothly. Please read and follow the instructions:
Once at the beginning of each session:
- Follow the link below which will open the ctcLink login screen in a new browser tab
- In the new tab login to ctcLink
- Return back to this tab
These steps log you into ctcLink and keep you logged in until you log out manually or close your browser. If you or a public computer it is good security practice to logout and close all browser windows when you are done.
Proceed to ctcLink login in new window
For each class:
- Click on the name of the class below to show future offerings
- Click the 'Find in ctcLink' button below the class you wish to find. (Button will only show if registration is open.)
- A new tab with the ctcLink Class Search tool will open
- Without changing any of the filter options, click the 'Search' button
- Only the specific class you selected will show. If logged in following the steps above, you will be able to register for the class.

Quarter 1

AQUA 100

Intro to Fisheries and Aquaculture

AQUA 135 Hatchery Practicum I 4 CR
This lab course provides hands on training to reinforce learning objectives in AQUA 100, AQUA 110, and AQUA 130. Students will practice spawning techniques, proper gamete handling, and calculations of reproductive metrics. Students will also apply water quality theory to lab and field projects and taxonomic tools for site surveys, hatchery operations, and aquaculture husbandry.
Prerequisites:
ACCUPLACER Arithmetic (254) or higher OR MATH 090 with a C or higher, and ACCUPLACER Writing (245) or ENGL 092 with a C or higher, and ACCUPLACER Reading (247) or higher OR RDG 085 with a C or higher or Instructor permission. Completion of AQUA 100, AQUA 110 and AQUA 130 all with a C- or higher, or concurrent enrollment in AQUA 100, AQUA 110 and AQUA 130.
Current & Future Offerings:
Quarter 2

Fundamentals of Aquaculture

3 CR

AQUA 165 Aquaculture Practicum 3 CR
This lab course provides hands on training to reinforce the learning objectives in AQUA 140, AQUA 150, and AQUA 190. Students will practice culturing techniques for algae, shellfish, and finfish species, including: stocking systems based on condition factors, recording growth and mortality metrics, monitoring embryonic and juvenile development, creating feeding schedules, and monitoring aquatic animal health.
Prerequisites:
AQUA 100, AQUA 110, AQUA 130, and AQUA 135 all with a C- or higher..
Current & Future Offerings:

AQUA 190

Toxicology and Diseases

3 CR

Quarter 3

AQUA 160

Fundamentals of Fisheries Biology

AQUA 195 Fisheries Practicum 4 CR
This lab course provides hands on training to reinforce the learning objectives in AQUA 160, AQUA 170, and AQUA 180. Students will practice assessing sites for habitat quality, sampling aquatic invertebrate populations in freshwater and marine environments, and stock enhancement strategies for fisheries management.
Prerequisites:
ACCUPLACER Classic Arithmetic (75) OR ACCUPLACER NexGen Arithmetic (254) or higher OR MATH 090 with a C or higher, and ACCUPLACER Classic Sentence Skills (71) or higher OR ACCUPLACER NextGen Writing (245) or ENGL 092 with a C or higher, and ACCUPLACER Classic Reading (71) or higher OR ACCUPLACER NextGen Reading (247) or higher OR RDG 085 with a C or higher or Instructor permission.
Current & Future Offerings:

View past class requirements for this program.
Select the year closest to the year started, without going over, to see program requirements for a student who started the program that year:

Program Outcomes

Students who successfully complete the Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques Certificate will be able to:

Demonstrate competency in hatchery methods and apply appropriate techniques to spawn, incubate, rear, and release fish.
Demonstrate competency in shellfish hatchery and aquaculture methods and apply appropriate techniques to raise diatoms, spawn shellfish, set seed, plant seed, culture and harvest shellfish.
Demonstrate competency in Habitat Restoration methods and apply techniques to improve and restore habitat, plant native vegetation, eliminate invasive species, and add woody debris and gravel to streams.
Demonstrate competency in field research, stream surveys, tag studies, spawning assessments, and smolt trap projects.

Employment Outlook

Fisheries & Aquaculture Techniques Certificate graduates meet the requirements for Fish Hatchery Technician positions with WDFW and Biological Technician GS 3 positions with the federal government, and employment in tribal government, private, and nonprofit sectors.

Faculty & Support

Brittany Palm

Degrees and Credentials
Certificate, Professional Technical Education, Washington State
MS, Marine Sciences, University of New England
BS, Marine Biology, University of New England

Sara Smith

Degrees and Credentials
BS, Environmental Science-Freshwater Ecology Emphasis, Western Washington University
Certificate, Professional Technical Education, Washington State
MS, Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University

Contacts

If you have questions about this program or want help with the admissions steps to Bellingham Technical College, please email outreach@btc.edu.

Current students wanting academic planning and support, can connect with the program Instructor(s) or email FisheriesNav@btc.edu

Fall 2023
09/20/2023-12/08/2023	Smith	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.
Spring 2024
04/02/2024-06/21/2024	Palm	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.

Fall 2023
09/20/2023-12/08/2023	Smith	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.

Fall 2023
09/20/2023-12/08/2023	Palm	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.

Fall 2023
09/20/2023-12/08/2023	Smith	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.

Winter 2024
01/03/2024-03/22/2024		Tomtan	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.
	Find in ctcLink

Winter 2024
01/03/2024-03/22/2024		Shiley	Online Asynchronous
The class is taught completely online. There are no scheduled class times that are required; all online work is completed asynchronously. There is no face-to-face instruction.
	Find in ctcLink

Fisheries and Aquaculture Techniques

Fisheries and Aquaculture Techniques

Fisheries and Aquaculture Techniques - Certificate

Employment Information

Estimated Program Costs

Entry Information

When Can I Start?

What are the Minimum Entry Requirements?

What are My Next Steps?

Classes

Total Program Credits: 39

Current Students: Learn how to use this page to register for classes

Quarter 1

Quarter 2

Quarter 3

View past class requirements for this program.

Program Outcomes

Employment Outlook

Faculty & Support

Brittany Palm

Degrees and Credentials

Sara Smith

Degrees and Credentials

Contacts