Organization Policies
Animal Care Volunteers
Animal Care Volunteer Description
Animal Care Volunteers at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center play an integral role in our ability to rehabilitate sick and injured marine mammals that strand on beaches in Orange County, California. Becoming an Animal Care Volunteer is a unique opportunity to assist with the care of sick and injured marine mammals including cleaning pools and enclosures, washing dishes, doing laundry, preparing and weighing patient diets, feeding patients, and helping our medical team care for our patients. Animal Care Volunteers may also have an opportunity to assist with marine mammal rescues and to assist with releasing healthy patients back to their natural habitat.
As an Animal Care Volunteer, you will need to commit to the same shift, on the same day every week for a minimum of one year. Shift times are below, but may vary depending on the number of patients, with our busiest time extending from January to July. Being an Animal Care Volunteer is rewarding, educational and fun- and it is a GREAT way to give back to our environment and to make a difference for the wild marine mammals that call Orange County home.
The first step to joining our Animal Care team is to fill out the application below. No experience required! We will teach you the skills you need to care for our patients. Applications are reviewed based on our need for additional help. Qualified applicants will be invited onsite for an in-person interview. If we feel an applicant would be a good fit for one of Animal Care shifts, we will invite that applicant to attend one of our mandatory Animal Care Volunteer orientations. After attending orientation, new Animal Care Volunteers will spend 8 weeks training on the shift the applicant is assigned to based on our needs and their availability. During this time, volunteers will get a preview of what the duties of an Animal Care Volunteer entail and will receive basic training led by our Animal Care Staff. Once all training is successfully completed, selected candidates will be offered a volunteer position on the Animal Care Team and given their official Pacific Marine Mammal Center Volunteer t-shirt! Additional Animal Care Volunteer orientations and trainings will be held on an as needed basis throughout the year to meet the needs of our busy hospital. We look forward to receiving your application and having you join our amazing team of Animal Care Volunteers at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center!
Time Commitment*
Morning shift: 7:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Afternoon shift: 11:00 PM to 4:00 PM
Evening shift: 2:00 PM to 7:00 PM
*Animal Care Volunteers may be asked to stay for extended hours during our busy seasons.
- Commitment of one-year minimum (but most our volunteers stay around for years…even decades!)
- One shift per week on a consistent day, as detailed above
- All our volunteers are encouraged to volunteer at our annual fundraising events
Skills/Qualifications
- Applicant must be 18 years or older
- Must be covered by medical insurance
- Ability to work well on a team and take direction from Animal Care Staff
- Willingness to commit to PMMC on a weekly basis
- High levels of physical fitness and mental dedication
- Eagerness to work hard under difficult and stressful conditions
- Ability to tolerate unpleasant sights and smells
- Must be able to lift 50 pounds
**Important update to Animal Care Volunteer application**
Applications will be reviewed beginning in August 2026 and interviews will take place in September 2026.
Fish House Crew Volunteer Description
Fish House Crew Volunteers at the Pacific Marine Mammal Center also play an integral role in our ability to rehabilitate sick and injured marine mammals that strand on beaches in Orange County, California. The Fish House Crew assists our Animal Care Team in ensuring we provide the highest quality of nutrition for our patients.
As a Fish House Crew member, you will need to commit to the same two hour shift every week. Being a member of the Fish House Crew supports one of the most important steps in our patient’s rehabilitation - preparing our patient’s diets.
General duties include: lifting and thawing frozen fish, weighing fish for patient feeds, organizing the diets in the refrigerators, washing dirty dishes and fish buckets.
The first step to joining our Fish House Crew is to fill out the application below. No experience required. We will teach you how to evaluate fish quality and accurately weigh our patient’s diets. Qualified applicants will be invited to attend our mandatory orientation. After attending orientation, Fish Crew Volunteers will learn all aspects of the Fish House Crew duties.
Time Commitment
2 hour commitment (9:00 AM to 11:00 AM) once a week during the busy season
Skills/Qualifications
- Ability to lift a 22-25 pound box of fish
- Willingness to commit to PMMC on a weekly basis
- Must be able to stand for > 2 hours
- Ability to tolerate unpleasant sights and smells
- Comfortable working in areas that appear slippery/wet
**Important update to Fish House Crew volunteer application**
The 2026 cohort is full/closed. Any new applications submitted will be reviewed on an as needed basis to fill remaining vacancies in the schedule.
