PEI

DFO looking to hire 100 fishery officers in next 2 years

More people will be recruited as fishery officers over the next couple of years because of an increasing number of retirements. 

Starting salary is around $53K

Fishery officers spend a lot of time outdoors and see 'a tangible result' from their work, says Glen Gillespie. (Rafferty Baker/CBC)

More people are going to be recruited as fishery officers over the next couple of years because of an increasing number of retirements. 

DFO is predicting about 100 people will need to be hired in the next two years alone.

Glen Gillespie, the acting area chief for conservation and enforcement in P.E.I., calls it "one of the best jobs in the world."

"You're outdoors, you're dealing with the public, dealing with fishers and stakeholders. You're in the community promoting compliance of regulations and there's a tangible result that you see as a fishery officer in your work."

The training involves 16 weeks in the classroom, including nine at the RCMP training facility in Regina. 

After that, the first 30 months are taken up with on-the-job training, with a starting salary of around $53,000.

More from CBC P.E.I.

With files from Island Morning