Fish Processing Supervisor Jobs

Fish farms supply the fish, but the stock must be processed prior to hitting the consumer market.

Processing facilities need management positions to run the day-to-day operations. Fish processing supervisors fill that important role in getting various aquatic species from the sea or fish farm to the customer.

As stated by the title, this role is required to manage the daily operations of a specific seafood processing plant. Common locations are in land-based processing plants, but the requirement for a supervisor in floating plants or at-sea fish processing facilities has been increasing lately. The supervisor generally leads a team of individuals in all the activities from when the aquatic species is delivered to the plant through the necessary steps required to make them ready for shipping to the customer. The supervisor often reports to a plant manager or assistant manager with production and safety responsibilities. In order to meet these goals, this position is usually required to troubleshoot any processing issues that have an impact on both the amount of product heading out the door and the quality of that product. The supervisor must be adept at training processing personnel in their job requirements to meet those needs and enforcing those requirements. Often, the supervisor must be able to perform the actual processing duties when situations dictate the need to do so.

Most supervisor positions are filled by individuals who have worked their way through the actual seafood processing jobs at a processing plant. Therefore, most do not require a college degree, although the extent of the operation may prefer an applicant with a bachelor’s degree in a science-related field.

In either case, a processing supervisor needs to possess the ability to manage people. In addition, the supervisor generally requires an excellent understanding of the local and federal regulations around food quality. Many processing plants employ a broad range of individuals who may speak languages other than English, so companies often look for supervisors with the ability to speak specific or multiple languages. Many processing plants are union environments, so experience in working with unions is usually preferred.

The salary for a processing supervisor position generally falls within the range of US$25,000 to US$40,000. The actual number will vary based on experience, responsibility, size of the operation managed, aquatic species being processed and location.

Working conditions for a processing plant supervisor primarily consist of a combination of time spent on the processing floor and in an office setting. The time on the floor may be spent observing and assisting with the actual processing tasks or training personnel to perform the processing tasks, according to company or regulated policy. The office time would be spent managing personnel decisions, filing production reports and responding to customer service issues. For both these settings, the supervisor must have good oral and written communication skills and must be oriented towards managing a diverse group of individuals to work in a team setting to meet production goals.

Lastly, many processing plants have multiple supervisors working in shifts, so an individual must be able to work odd hours that include nights or weekends.