John F. Kocik was born and raised in Gloversville, NY in the southern foothills of the Adirondack Mountains. He attended college at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh, earning a B.Sc. in Biology (1984). He earned his M.Sc. (1988) and Ph.D. (1992) in Fisheries and Wildlife Science at Michigan State University.

Kocik has been a Research Fishery Biologist in the Population Dynamics Branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service's Northeast Fisheries Science Center since 1992. He is an adjunct professor of fisheries at the University of Rhode Island and University of Massachusetts. He also serves on the United States Atlantic Salmon Assessment Committee and has chaired the Maine Technical Advisory Committee for Atlantic salmon. His primary research interests are investigating the roles of habitat and climate on the production and ecology of salmon and trout. The author of numerous peer-reviewed articles, Kocik is a member of several professional societies and has held elected positions in the American Fisheries Society at national and chapter levels.