Aquaculturist Career Profile
- Career Name - Aquaculturist
- Category - Animal Care / Health / Farming & Livestock Management / Marine Conservation
- Skills Required - Life skills 40% - Career skills 60%
- Basic School Subjects - Language, Business Studies, Biology
- Minimum Required Education - Bachelor's Degree
- Species Worked With - Fish, Crustaceans, Mollusks
- Kind of Interaction with Animals - Direct
Do you want to work as an Aquaculturist?
READ: This page helps you to read about the career and the info you need to decide on whether this is indeed the career you want to follow.
RESEARCH: Learn about the skills required and minimum subjects to enter this career, as well as the places where you can study further after school.
PREPARE: If you want to plan and prepare for the career, then join the OZT Community! Members have access to tools, while chatting with other students and experts from around the world. Prepare to be amazed!
CAREER MENTOR
UPDATED:
2 September 2024
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What is an Aquaculturist?
An aquaculturist is in charge of the farming of Aquatic organisms, including culturing and growing freshwater and marine fish, shellfish, and aquatic plants.
Alternative Names
Alternative names for an Aquaculturist include:
- Aquaculture Technician
- Aquaculture Manager
- Aquatic Farmer
- Aquatic Biotechnologist
- Marine Farmer
- Aquaculture Specialist
- Aquaculture Producer
- Aquatic Species Cultivator
These titles can vary based on the specific focus or setting of the work, such as whether the professional is more involved in management, research, or hands-on farming.
Career Categories
The aquaculturist career can be found within the following OZT career categories:
- Animal Care
- Health
- Farming & Livestock Management
- Marine Conservation
Ancient history?
Aquaculture has been around for more than 4,000 years
Fish farming?
There is an estimated 12 million fish farmers around the world
What does an Aquaculturist do?
Groups of animals an Aquaculturist works with
Aquaculturists work with a wide variety of aquatic animals, depending on their area of specialisation and the goals of the aquaculture operation. These animals typically include:
1. Fish
- Finfish: Such as salmon, trout, tilapia, catfish, bass, and carp. These are commonly farmed for food production.
- Ornamental Fish: Such as koi, guppies, and angelfish, which are bred for the aquarium trade.
2. Shellfish
- Mollusks: Such as oysters, clams, mussels, and scallops. These are often cultivated for food and pearl production.
- Crustaceans: Such as shrimp, prawns, crabs, and lobsters. These are farmed primarily for consumption.
3. Other Aquatic Species
- Echinoderms: Such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers, which are harvested for food and medicinal purposes.
Aquaculturists often focus on species that are in demand for human consumption, ornamental purposes, or conservation, and their work may involve managing the Life cycle of these organisms from breeding to harvesting.
What is the level of Interaction with the Animals?
- Directly - A person works directly with the animals with some form of physical contact at least once every few days
- Indirectly - The career doesn't require direct or physical contact at all.
With who does an Aquaculturist work?
Besides working with all of the animals, Aquaculturists will need to interact with other people while doing their daily tasks. The people might include fellow staff members or the public.
Fellow staff might include:
- Supervisors/Managers
- Operational staff, such as Human Resources, Finance and Maintenance
- Researchers
- Technicians
What does an Aquaculturist focus on?
Aquaculturists work to ensure the sustainable production of seafood, improve breeding techniques, manage water quality, and control the health and growth of the organisms being raised.
What are the daily tasks of an Aquaculturist?
- Assist with all aspects of fish husbandry including feeding, fish grading, fish movement, water quality monitoring and fish inventory control
- Grow fish and shellfish as cash crops or for release into freshwater or saltwater
- Supervise and train aquaculture and fish hatchery support workers
- Collect and record growth, production, and environmental data
- Conduct and supervise stock examinations to identify diseases or parasites
- Sort different types of breeding stock in order
- Handle incubation and short-term rearing of fish in net pens or small ponds
- Conduct routine maintenance of your facility and equipment
- Oversee operation and maintenance of freshwater and/or seawater aquaculture systems
- Provide insight into planning facilities and construction of new aquaculture systems
- Manage automated building and equipment control systems
- Provides technical support for various projects with researchers and universities
- Assist those interested in aquaculture in the development of commercially viable aquaculture systems and processes
- Design, supervise and implement biological studies on aquatic resources
- Assess fish population in various bodies of water
- Compile, analyze and interpret biological data and compile technical reports.
- Identify and treat diseases found in fish populations
- Manage fish inventory and production in a hatchery
- Administer and execute policies relating to operations, train, supervise and assist hatchery workers
- Provide leadership for delivering education, training and information to a variety of audiences that may farmers, educators, agency personnel and citizens
- Work to find ways to improve spawning, setting, growth rates and disease prevention in hatcheries
Working conditions of an Aquaculturist
Where does an Aquaculturist work?
Environment –
Aquaculturists work indoors, mainly within the hatchery, which can be completely enclosed, or partially open to allow sunlight and fresh air into the hatchery.
Places of Employment –
They find employment at hatcheries, research institutions, universities, fish conservation organizations, and government.
What is the average annual salary of an Aquaculturist?
On average the income per year is around $55,000. This will differ from country to country.
Can an Aquaculturist be promoted?
Promotion to senior levels are available in most animal caretaker careers.
Advancement in the field typically depends on work experience. First-year aquaculturists often fit their training commitments around the daily work demands.
The levels of each promotion might differ from organization to organization, but generally are the following:
Intern -> Junior Aquaculturist -> Senior Aquaculturist -> Manager
What kind of difficulties can an Aquaculturist face?
The most difficult part is working with eggs and small fish that can be extremely fragile. They may also work shifts, long hours and over weekends and holidays.
Future growth and Possibilities
The average yearly growth of new positions is around 5%, which is below the global job availability average, and causes some competition for new jobs. Possible new opportunities might open as privately owned hatcheries increase in an effort to ensure that the stock level of fish in nature remains stable.
Which Skills are required by an Aquaculturist?
The skills required for a career as an aquaculturist can be divided into two very important groups. The first is the group containing life skills, which are the core skills that are necessary or desirable for full participation in everyday life. The second group is career skills, or the specific skills required to allow a person to enter and operate effectively within a specific career. Some or maybe even all of the life skills can assist in strengthening the career skills, and they might even be the same for specific careers.
Life Skills
- Self-awareness
- Empathy
- Critical thinking
- Creative thinking
- Decision making
- Problem Solving
- Effective communication
- Interpersonal relationship
Career Skills
- Good business knowledge
- Good animal care and handling
- Basic customer service skills
- Good health and physical fitness
- Excellent computer literacy
Which Subjects must I have at School to help prepare for this career?
Most hatcheries will require at least a good grade in language to ensure efficient communication
Although Biology will not be required to enter the career, it can assist in gaining admission to future college or universities studies.
If you are thinking of working within a hatchery and later moving out to start your own hatchery
The subjects you choose at school are important as they lay the foundation for further studies at college or university. While still at school, it’s also important to learn more about the animals you will work with, as well as gain some experience.
OZT has a list of various tertiary institutions where you can study further, after school. Each of these institutions also have their own Group page on OZT where you will find the exact subjects they require of you to have passed in school. Keep these requirements in mind, and discuss it with your school, guidance counselor and parents to ensure that you are prepared!
What will I need to Study to become an Aquaculturist?
Minimum educational requirements
To become a Fish Hatchery Technician doesn’t require formal training, but many do go on to study a College Diploma.
Study Focus
Major –
Further studies help to secure management positions, or entry into a more advanced career. Major can include biology, marine sciences, animal husbandry or aquaculture.
Short Courses –
As this career evolves, there will always be new short courses on topics, such as hatchery methods and the use of technology.
Study Duration
The duration of Bachelor’s Degrees can be up to 3 or 4 years. Short Courses are usually between a few weeks and a year.
FREE Career Preparation Plan
If this is your dream career that you want to pursue, then it’s important to plan the way forward.
Why is planning important?
To ensure that you understand the requirements for your career, and that you are always prepared for the next step on the road towards your dream. A Preparation Path is like your road map to where you want to be.
Possible Paths:
Possible Combined Career Paths
It is possible to sometimes combine two or more related careers. This normally happens when you study and practice a specific main career, but the knowledge and experience gained also help you to have a paying hobby or secondary income career.
Possible Alternatives (there are a lot more):
Training and apprenticeship
Even though it is important to study to get into some of the animal careers, most of the skills you will need as an aquaculturist will be acquired through practice. This means that you will learn how to perform some of the daily tasks by actually doing it a few times and learning the steps.
In some cases entry level positions require training sessions even before you are allowed to actually perform your job duties. These sessions are offered by the place of employment, after you have successfully applied.
Apprenticeship is also possible where you need to learn skills from a more senior technician or biologist.
Join the Aquaculturists Group to learn more and even interact with the educational institutions that will help you secure your dream career!
Average level of educational qualification people had when entering the Career
Licenses, Registration, Certification and Professional Associations
Certain animal careers require some form of legal certification to prove that you can indeed do the work, and work with the necessary equipment.
Although not required by law, certifications may help workers establish their credentials and enhance their skills.
Learn more about requirements by joining the OZT Community!
Professional Associations
Where can I study further?
All of the above information will help you understand more about the Career, including the fact that there are different paths to take to reach it. But if you are almost done with High School (Grades 11 or 12), you also need to start thinking about further studies, and WHERE you will study.
See the List of Universities, Colleges and Online Training Academies who offer courses towards fish breeding.
JOIN the OZT community and career Group
Join us as a special member and learn more about becoming an aquaculturist.
Members of the Platform have special access to:
- Info on the best places where you can study (colleges, universities and online)
- Expertly designed advice to prepare you for the career, and links to places where you can gain valuable experience. For some career experience is necessary, otherwise you wont get the job!
- Top notch info on each of the different species you will work with
- Make friends around the world and share knowledge
- Compete and win points, badges, games, prizes and certificates. Be the best of the best, while you learn and prepare!
If you have decided on being an aquaculturist, please click on the JOIN GROUP button. Members will be directed to the Group, while non-members will be assisted to register first.
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How do I start to prepare for this Career?
If you do decide on following this career, then OZT can assist you in figuring out a path to prepare, as well as help you to gain further knowledge about the career and the animals you will be working with. We do this by offering you FREE career development tools. There are almost a dozen free tools, but these are the three primary ones:
CAREER PATH PLAN
Use the career path plan above on this profile as an example to follow, or to work out your own path.
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SHORT COURSES
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STUDY GUIDE
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But, if you are still uncertain about choosing this specific career, and even where to start, then have a look at our special series of WHAT NEXT courses (link below). They take you through all of the questions you might have on how to choose the right career, what to do while at and after school, and even how to start your own business.
Hi, there is huge potential in aqua-culturist career
The International Conference on Aquaculture (Aqua Farm 2023) will have its launch in Melbourne this year and we would like to welcome you with the utmost excitement.
Aqua Farm 2023 has been designed to give a highlighting concern in aquaculture (Australia) and to facilitate collaboration among the aquaculture farmers and Innovative aquaculture Industries.
To know more about this even follow this link https://aquacultureconference.com.au/