Professional Certification

“I have always valued being a Certified Fisheries Professional and have encouraged others to seek certification.  Over my career the requirement to be re-certified has been a catalyst for me to seek continuing education opportunities that would keep me abreast of changes in the fisheries profession as well as prepare me for positions with administrative responsibilities.  I will always be proud of having maintained full certification and I appreciate being able to qualify for Emeritus Status.”

Why become certified?

There are many reasons for seeking professional certification. For some it represents achievement of a career goal while for others it represents a credential necessary to perform their job. Adelman et al. (1997) describe the specific objectives of certification as follows:

(1) to provide governmental and nongovernmental agencies and organizations, private firms, courts, and the general public with a definitive minimum standard of experience and education for fisheries professionals; and

(2) to foster broader recognition of fisheries professionals as well-educated and experienced, acting in the best interest of the public. Click here to read more

Levels of Certification

• • Associate Fisheries Professional (FP-A)
    
    • • An applicant who satisfies course work and degree (minimum of B.S. or B.A.) requirements but has insufficient or no experience

• • Certified Fisheries Professional (FP-C)
    
    • • An applicant who satisfies course work and degree requirements and has a specific number of years of qualifying experience and a specific number of professional development quality points (PDQPs)

• • Certified Fisheries Professional, Established (FP-C) (applying as Established Fisheries Professional)

• • Certification Upgrade (FP-A upgrading to FP-C)

• • Emeritus Status (20+ years being certified)

How to Apply

**Only current AFS members may apply for professional certification**

Applicants must satisfy coursework requirements based on past education and continuing education. Application requirements differ depending on the date of your degree. 

Certification applications must be completed on the AFS awards platform, https://afsawards.awardsplatform.com/ 

You will need to create an account, start an entry, then select “Certified Fisheries Professional Program” from the dropdown menu. Select the application type from the new dropdown menu that appears.

All questions about applications, certification process or online invoices can also be directed to aberniche@fisheries.org.

Course Deficiency Requirement

If applicants do not have certain educational requirements met, they may submit a course deficiency form along with their certification application.

• • The American Fisheries Society has developed some guidelines to help fisheries professionals remediate coursework deficiencies, a common occurrence for older or non-specialized programs.
    
    • • Click here for course deficiency instructions.

• • Applicants may satisfy two course deficiencies.
    
    • • Only one course deficiency is allowed in each subject area and a total of two deficiencies may be waived

For more detailed information about the application process, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions about Certification or contact aberniche@fisheries.org.

Application Dates

Application Fees

Application Process

The Board of Professional Certification is composed of 15 Certified Fishery Professionals who represent all the Divisions and volunteer their time to review applications. The Board is composed of 3 subcommittees: Experience, Education and Professional Experience. Applications are screened for completeness by AFS Educational Program Coordinator. Complete applications are sent out for review quarterly. Once the committees receive the applications it takes about a month to finish the review. Depending on the timing of your submission it takes about 10-12 weeks to learn your results from the date of the application deadline.

Applicants  must pay online using the application portal to submit their application. *Results will NOT be given out to applicants until they have paid the application fee. AFS no longer accepts mail-in checks or mailed certification applications*

• • Pay Online: During the application process, the awards platform will prompt you to submit your payment

For more detailed information about the Professional Certification program and the application process, please refer to Frequently Asked Questions about Certification or download the AFS Professional Certification program 101 slideshow.

• • AFS Professional Certification Program 101 (PPT)

Who is Certified?

AFS is proud to announce the certification of its members on a regular basis! See the complete list of all Certified Fisheries Professionals in AFS.