Upcoming Filing Cutoff Dates:

• 7/1/2026
• 10/1/2026
• 1/1/2027
• 4/1/2027
• 7/1/2027

Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) must be received or postmarked by the filing date indicated above. Applications postmarked, personally delivered or received via interoffice mail after the filing date will be processed in the next group.

The information below will help you determine which classification(s) is(are) appropriate for you. Applicants must meet the Minimum Qualifications as stated on this bulletin to compete in this examination.

Open and Open, Non-Promotional Examination(s):

• FISH HATCHERY MANAGER I - Open

For all Classifications, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 6 months:

Exam Code(s):

3225

For FISH HATCHERY MANAGER I, once you have participated in any of the following examinations, you may not recompete for 6 months:

Exam Code(s):

• EX-03225

Submit an Examination/Employment Application (STD 678) to apply for this examination.

Electronic applications can be submitted through your account at www.CalCareers.ca.gov.

You may apply by mail to:

• Human Resources Branch
  Department of Fish and Wildlife
  Examinations Unit
  P.O. Box 944209
  Sacramento, CA 94244
  

Indicate the Examination Code and Classification(s) on your Examination/Employment Application (STD 678).

Please submit your unofficial transcripts with your application if you are meeting the education requirement, otherwise, you may bypass this step.

Applicants who completed their education outside of the US (with foreign degrees/transcripts) must obtain and submit verification of U.S. course/degree equivalency. Foreign education credential evaluation services can be found at NACES | National Association of Credential Evaluation Services.

When submitting supporting documents, PDF file format is preferred.

The following items must be submitted with your Examination/Employment Application form. Failure to submit these items may result in rejection of your application.

• Transcript (Official or Unofficial)

If you require assistance or alternative testing arrangements due to a disability, indicate on your application that you need reasonable accommodation. You will be contacted by a representative of the testing department to make the necessary arrangements. If you have not been contacted by the time you receive notification of testing, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

If you are unable to submit your application or complete the test due to a disability, please contact the testing department listed in the Contact section of this bulletin.

All applicants must meet the education and/or experience requirements as stated on this exam bulletin to be accepted to the examination.

Unless otherwise stated in the Minimum Qualifications, qualifying experience may be combined on a proportionate basis if the requirements stated below include more than one pattern and are distinguished as "Either" 1, "or" 2, "or" 3, etc. For example, applicants possessing qualifying experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 1 and additional experience amounting to 50% of the required time of Pattern 2 may be accepted to an examination as meeting 100% of the overall experience requirement.

Either I

Two years of experience in the California state service performing the duties of a Fish Culturist.

Or II

Experience: Two years of fisheries management, hatchery, or research experience. At least one year of this experience must be equivalent in level to a Fish Culturist performing routine technical work in connection with inland fisheries, field management, or survey activities. (One year of graduate work in the biological sciences, fisheries management, or similar fields may be substituted for the one year of general experience.) and

Education: Equivalent to graduation from college with specialization in the biological sciences, fisheries management, or similar fields. (Additional qualifying experience may be substituted for the required education on a year-for-year basis.)

This examination consists of the following component(s):

A final score of 70% must be attained to be placed on the eligible list.

Applicants will be sent a link through their CalCareers account to complete the Training and Experience Questionnaire. Applicants must submit the exam within ten (10) business days after receiving the link to not be automatically disqualified. Failure to submit an exam within the allotted timeframe shall result in receiving a "Did Not Appear" disqualification notice.

In addition to evaluating the applicant's relative knowledge, skill and ability as demonstrated by quality and breadth of education/experience, emphasis in each test component will be on measuring competitively, relative to job demands, each applicant's:

Knowledge of:

1. Inland fisheries management principles and methods and their application to conditions and problems in California.                                                                                                                                2. Methods, materials, and equipment used in fish hatcheries and in fish culture and planting, control of parasites and diseases of hatchery fish.
3. Classification, life histories, ecology, habits, and geographical distribution of fresh-water and anadromous fishes.
4. Laws, regulations, and departmental policies relating to the conservation and restoration of fresh-water and anadromous fishes.
5. Principles and techniques of personnel management and supervision.
6. A manager’s/supervisor’s responsibility for promoting equal opportunity in hiring and employee development and promotion, and for maintaining a work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment including the Bilingual Services Program, Reasonable Accommodation, and discrimination complaint process.

Ability to:

1. Plan, organize, and direct the work of others.
2. Analyze situations accurately and take effective action.
3. Establish and maintain cooperative relations with those contacted in the work.
4. Maintain records of hatchery production and costs.
5. Prepare and supervise the preparation of technical reports.
6. Speak and write effectively.
7. Effectively promote equal opportunity in employment and maintain a work environment that is free of discrimination and harassment including the Bilingual Services Program, Reasonable Accommodation, and discrimination complaint process.

A Departmental Open eligible list for the FISH HATCHERY MANAGER I Classification will be established for:

• Department of Fish and Wildlife

The names of successful competitors will be merged onto the eligible list(s) in order of final score regardless of test date. Eligibility expires 12 months after it is established. Applicants must then retake the examination to reestablish eligibility.

Veterans' Preference will be granted for this examination. Veterans' Preference is an assistance program for veterans, veteran widows and widowers, and spouses of 100% disabled veterans who seek employment with the state. Veterans' Preference is also extended to currently serving military members nearing their retirement or separation date.

You are not eligible for Veteran's Preference if you are:

• A veteran who has been dishonorably discharged or released.
• A veteran, widow or widower of a veteran, or spouse of a 100 percent disabled veteran who currently has permanent civil service status. (Permanent civil service status is the status of an employee who is lawfully retained in his/her position after completion of the applicable probationary period. This does not include limited term).

Veterans' Preference is codified in Government Code Sections 18973 – 18979.

Veteran status is verified by the California Department of Human Resources (CalHR). Directions to apply for Veterans' Preference are on the Veterans' Preference Application (Std. Form 1093), which is available at www.CalCareers.ca.gov, and the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Career Credits are not granted for examination(s) administered on an Open basis or a Promotional basis.

• Department of Fish and Wildlife

Questions regarding this examination should be directed to:

California Relay Service: 1-800-735-2929 (TTY), 1-800-735-2922 (Voice). TTY is a Telecommunications Device for the Deaf, and is reachable only from phones equipped with a TTY Device.

Examination and/or Employment Application (STD 678) forms are available at the California Department of Human Resources, local offices of the Employment Development Department, and through your CalCareer Account (www.CalCareers.ca.gov).

If you meet the requirements stated on this examination bulletin, you may take this examination, which is competitive. Possession of the entrance requirements does not assure a place on the eligible list. Your performance in the examination described in this bulletin will be rated against a predetermined job-related rating, and all applicants who pass will be ranked according to their scores.

Department of Fish and Wildlife reserves the right to revise the examination plan to better meet the needs of the service, if the circumstances under which this examination was planned change. Such revision will be in accordance with civil service laws and rules and all applicants will be notified.

General Qualifications: Applicants must possess essential personal qualifications including integrity, initiative, dependability, good judgment, the ability to work cooperatively with others, and a state of health consistent with the ability to perform the assigned duties of the class. A medical examination may be required. In open examinations, investigation may be made of employment records and personal history and fingerprinting may be required.

Eligible Lists: Eligible lists established by competitive examination, regardless of date, must be used in the following order: 1) sub-divisional promotional, 2) departmental promotional, 3) multi-departmental promotional, 4) service-wide promotional, 5) departmental open, 6) open. When there are two lists of the same kind, the older must be used first. Eligible lists will expire in one to four years unless otherwise stated on the bulletin.

High School Equivalence: Equivalence to completion of the 12th grade may be demonstrated in any one of the following ways: 1) passing the General Education Development (GED) Test; 2) completion of 12 semester units of college-level work; 3) certification from the State Department of Education, a local school board, or high school authorities that the competitor is considered to have education equivalent to graduation from high school; or 4) for clerical and accounting classes, substitution of business college work in place of high school on a year-for-year basis.

Accepted applicants must provide proof of identification at each in-person test session. Acceptable identification consists of a photo identification card or two forms of signed identification.