Heather J. Shotzberger

Owner, President, and Environmental Scientist

  Mrs. Shotzberger (née Bason) has served as an assistant hatchery manager at her family’s fish farm in Delaware since the early 1990s. Her duties include the live capture of Delaware River striped bass broodstock by floating gill net and electrofishing, hatchery spawning of broodstock, care and rearing of larval and juvenile fish (striped bass), the care and rearing of other species including yellow perch (Perca flavescens), largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides), various catfish species, and ornamental koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), and the regional and international packaging and shipment of live fish larvae. In addition to hatchery management experience, Heather worked as a fisheries technician for Environmental Consulting Services, Inc. (ECSI) in Middletown, Delaware from 1990 through 2003. At ECSI, Mrs. Shotzberger performed Clean Water Act Section 316(b) impingement and entrainment sample collection at regional power plants and participated in field work supporting a major bay-wide fisheries sampling program in the Delaware Estuary as part of PSEG’s Estuary Enhancement Program (EEP). Her duties under this program included day and night bottom trawl, pelagic trawl, and beach seine sampling, as well as seasonal fish ladder monitoring. Heather also provided Phase 1 (sorting) and Phase 2 (identification) of ichthyoplankton samples in ECSI’s laboratory, and was a crucial component of the lab’s QA/QC program. Heather also worked on a larger team of fisheries consultants in a program to evaluate the efficacy of underwater sounds, lights, and air bubbles to deter fish from power plant cooling water intakes. Most recently, Heather worked in the blood products/components laboratory for the Blood Bank of Delmarva, where she was responsible for preparing human blood products for distribution to regional medical facilities.

Background

Education

University of Delaware - Dec. 1991 - Dec 1993– Newark, Delaware Major: Communications

Middletown High School - Sept. 1988 - June 1991- Middletown, Delaware Graduated with Honors

Years of Experience
Year started in industry: 1990

Relevant Experience

Delmarva Aquatics – Assistant Hatchery Manager, Smyrna, DE, 1990 - present

  Since the early 1990s, Mrs. Shotzberger has continuously served as an assistant hatchery manager to Delmarva Aquatics, a family business and an aquaculture facility that is the largest non-governmental producer of striped bass in the United States. Her duties include collecting wild bloodstock striped bass from the Delaware River, spawning fish in the hatchery, and rearing larval fish for eventual distribution. Other duties include collecting, holding, and caring for fish for academic and government research, pond stocking, and providing replacement fish stock for fish-kill mitigation. In addition to striped bass, species typically handled include bluegill, pumpkin seed, largemouth bass, yellow perch, native catfish, and ornamental koi.

Blood Bank of Delmarva – Components Lab Technician, Newark, DE, April 2005 – Oct 2013

  Laboratory Technician – Responsible for accurately performing laboratory procedures during the creation and testing of whole blood and whole blood products; Performed daily/monthly quality control on manual and automated equipment; Maintained maintenance of equipment/chain of custody reports records; Performed validation/implementation of operational procedures that involved BBCS computer program and the interfacing of various equipment including the Fresenius G4 Compomat, Compodock, multiple brands of digital scales, and printers for the production of blood and plasma products; Verified data sheets of other techs for proper documentation and accuracy; Performed testing and calculation of platelet products using the Sysmex XE 2100 and bacterial detection using the Biomeriex incubating system; Located, quarantined, or destroyed whole blood or blood products due to reactive testing. Maintained records and standards set forth by the Food and Drug Administration and the American Association of Blood Banks.

Mothers Work, Inc. – Christiana Mall – Newark, DE, July 2003 – Aug 2004

  Assistant Manager, Mimi Maternity – Responsible for banking, shift scheduling, employee training, inventory control, profit/loss control, merchandise display, and customer service and education; Supervised a compliment of up to ten full-time and part-time employees.

Environmental Consulting Services, Inc. – Fisheries Technician, Middletown, DE (1990 – 1998 seasonal, 1998 – 2003 full-time)

  Conducted fish population surveys, including data collection and report writing; Interfaced with state and federal regulatory agencies; Performed scientific measurements in the Delaware Bay. ; Supervised field crews. Integral to the quality assurance / quality control protocol at ECSI’s laboratory; Designed and constructed holding facilities for various fish species; Complete data management responsibility for PSEG’s Engineering and Scientific Database (ESD); Served as the primary post-9/11/01 security liaison for ECSI field activities at and near PSEG’s Salem Nuclear Generating Station.

A&H Pizza, Co-Owner, Middletown, DE, Jun 1993 - Feb 1996

  Co-owner/Manager – Responsible for routine business ownership demands; including: Bookkeeping, Banking, Hiring of new employees, Advertising, procurement/disbursements, and food preparation / service, and Regulatory compliance.