Fisheries Field Skills Certificate Program

We offer this course beginning in February in coastal regions and March in interior regions throughout North America. Please refer to our Schedule page for course timing and locations.

First aid training may be obtained before or after this training program.

Ensure first aid training is recognized and endorsed by WorkSafe agencies in North America. This one-day training program may be referred to by different titles, such as “Occupational First Aid” or “Standard First Aid”. Consult with your provincial or state WorkSafe authorities for more information.

Course participants are required to provide their own personal protective equipment (PPE): chestwaders (with no leaks), wading belt, non-slip footwear, polarized glasses, and a hat with a brim (e.g., ball cap), as well as the following equipment: clinometer, compass, waterproof field notebook, Eslon or other 30m measuring tape, minnow trap, ziplock bags, meter stick (1.2m wooden doweling, marked in centimeters), and bucket.

You can purchase chestwaders from Canadian Tire, Cabela’s, or industry suppliers such as Dynamic Aqua Supply (Surrey, BC), IRL Supplies (Prince George, BC), Winners Edge (Lillooet, BC), Surplus Herby’s (Williams Lake, Kamloops, Vernon BC), Forestry equipment suppliers across Canada and other outdoor equipment outfitters. Chestwaders can also be purchased from any flyfishing shop across Canada.

First, always ensure your chestwaders don’t leak! You can do this easily by holding a flashlight (or your phone) in your waders in a dark room. Beams of light coming out in small pinholes might indicate a small hole. Patch using Aqua seal or Shoe Goo.  

Neoprene chestwaders are appropriate for spring, fall and winter conditions but may be too warm for summer field work. Nylon chestwaders and Gore-Tex ® or breathable chestwaders are excellent choices for most seasons, where crew members wear warm layers (e.g., fleece, polypropylene) underneath during colder field conditions.

No, there is no requirement to recertify for this program. If there is a significant pause in your environmental monitoring fieldwork (e.g., four years or more), we would recommend that you recertify with NRTG. Note: all NRTG courses include free, lifetime certification. Enrol once – come back anytime.

NRTG’s Fisheries Field Skills Certificate program is accredited by BC’s College of Applied Biology (CAB). CAB will recognize graduates of the Fisheries Field Skills Certificate program as meeting the core academic requirements for entry as an Applied Biology Technician. An ‘Applied Biology Technician’ designation qualifies an individual as a BC provincially recognized and certified technician and helps to expand their industry credibility. 

NRTG also partners with post-secondary institutes across Canada, who offer their own non-credit Certificate of Completion for this program. Contact NRTG for further details.  

Absolutely! First, identify an upcoming Fisheries Field Skills Certificate program of interest and notify NRTG well in advance of the start date. We will do our best to create a free seat for past NRTG students and coordinate your attendance during the program.