Farmworkers And Laborers

Job description

Job Duties to Process Fresh Fish.
Work within this job description does not include freezing of fish or work in and around employer’s freezer functions. All work within this job description will be performed on fresh fish that are used for in further processing and freezing or that are shipped as “fresh, never frozen” fish.
In all duties employees must strictly adhere to all applicable food safety and sanitation requirements, including requirements of USDA Food Safety Inspection Service, Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices, USDA Process Verified Program for US Farm Raised Catfish Sustainability, and requirements of the customers and employer.
Catfish Processor:
Observe fish on a conveyor belt system and remove fish from that system and feed them into a conveyor system that regulate the movement or flow of fish to deheading and filleting lines or to whole fish processing lines. They also remove dead fish, trash fish and bycatch from the conveyor system.
Feed fish into a head cutter, place fish correctly into a fillet machine and deskin the fish.
Operate equipment to cut the head off whole fish, eviscerate whole fish and deskin the whole fish.
Observe the operating equipment and clear any blockages manually.
Operate band saw to cut eviscerated, skinned, whole fish into steak pieces.
Move containers of live fish, whole fish, and fillets between various stations in the plant including other fillet lines, manual whole fish lines, water jet trim lines, manual trim lines, and coolers using pallet jacks and hand dollies.
Fish Trimmers:
Inspect, separate and place fish fillets onto conveyor system feeding a water jet trimming machine or intelligent portioning machine and inspect for defects and blemishes and remove the fillets and nuggets from the conveyor system coming out of the water jet trimming machine or intelligent portioning machine, sorting them to the systems that sort and grade them according to size specifications. Also place improperly cut fillets into bins in order for them to be reworked.
Inspect, separate and trim fillets that didn’t go through the water jet trimming equipment or intelligent portioning machine or were not properly trimmed or cut. Inspect for blemishes or defects, remove bones, trim fat, skin, tissues and ragged edges from fish using hand knives.
Separate fish and byproducts into specified containers and separate fish according to size specifications of miscuts, nuggets or fillets.
Move containers of untrimmed and trimmed fillets or nuggets between various stations in the plant including other fillet lines, manual whole fish lines, water jet trim lines, manual trim lines, and coolers using pallet jacks and hand dollies.

Fresh Fish Packer:
Remove containers of fillets, nuggets or whole fish from the cooler and distribute them to the various fresh packaging locations in the plant. This is done using a pallet jack or hand dolly. Then deice the containers of fish before dumping them onto the fresh pack package out conveyor lines.
Remove fillets, nuggets or whole fish from containers to be sorted, graded and packed into shipping boxes lined with plastic bags. Inspect for blemishes, bones, skin, or misgraded product and remove from belt into containers to be reworked. Place ice in boxes on top of bagged fish, secure top onto box and stack boxes onto pallets for storage in the cooler and shipment on outbound trailers.

Special Requirements

Applicants must be 18 years or older. The company may conduct background checks. All tools, supplies and equipment will be provided at no cost to the worker. A pattern of abuse, misuse, or loss of employer supplied items may result in disciplinary actions including reimbursement of the cost of items, suspension without pay, and up to termination of employment. Proper work attire is required. No cell phone usage during work hours. Cell phone can only be used during breaks and emergencies. Must have good hand/eye coordination. Must have ability to work well independently or in a team atmosphere. Must be able to understand and act on spoken and other verbal communication. Must be able to work on a production line. All employees must consistently practice and support all safety rules and guidelines. All employees must consistently wear assigned Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and use and maintain knives and other equipment in a safe manner in accordance with instructions.