Oyster Boat Deckhands

Job description

Responsibilities include attaching apparatus devices to cable, boom, and hoist; loading and unloading equipment and supplies; and fishing/dredging oysters by setting up nets and lines, hauling in the catch, sorting, cleaning, culling, transplanting, storing, and unloading oysters. Workers must sort and return undesirable and undersized/illegal oysters to the bay. Oysters that remain on deck are hosed down removing dirt, weighed, bagged, labeled and brought to port ready for pick-up by freezer trucks and brought to the processing plant for its process. Additional oyster-related duties include placing PVC pipe and/or oyster markers in private oyster leases and transplanting oysters, shells, and rocks. Workers are responsible for keeping all work areas clean, including the deck, equipment, iceboxes/coolers, and cabin. Duties include securing and removing mooring lines for vessels to and from the dock or other vessels. Shipyard work includes cleaning the vessel and equipment. Aboard the fishing vessel, duties may include standing lookout, steering (helmsman duties), and engine room watches. Workers will load and unload oyster sacks from the vessel to the dock cooler and/or freight trucks.

The worker must comply at all times with the safety procedures established by the United States Coast Guard, as well as with the applicable laws of the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife.

The work will be carried out in multiple locations in Texas, including the addresses 732 Broadway St, Port Lavaca, TX 77979 and 825 2nd St, Seadrift, TX 77983. Work will also be performed in public and private waters off the Texas coast in Matagorda, and Calhoun counties.

Special Requirements

Must be able to lift and carry up to 100 pounds. Seafood allergies may be fatal. Hours vary due to weather, mechanical issues and other Acts of God. Weekend work and overtime possible. Willing to work outdoors on oyster boats, exposed to weather; must be capable of doing physically strenuous labor for long hours, occasionally in extreme heat. All applicants must be able, willing, qualified to perform work described and must be available for the entire period specified.