Aquaculture husbandry worker

An aquaculture husbandry worker

Description

Aquaculture husbandry workers are active in the production of aquatic organisms in land-based on-growing processes. They assist in the process of raising organisms through all stages of their life cycle.

The duties of an aquaculture husbandry worker include, but are not limited to:

  • feeding fish by hand or operating automatic feeding systems
  • grading fish by size, moving them to bigger tanks or cages
  • checking and maintaining water quality
  • checking fish for disease, preventing and treating infection
  • draining and cleaning tanks, filters and nets
  • repairing tanks or cages
  • getting fish ready for sale, gutting them and packing them in ice for transport
  • maintaining buildings and equipment, involving basic joinery, plumbing and electrical work.

Working conditions

Fish farms operate seven days a week, so aquaculture husbandry workers usually work flexible hours based around the jobs that need completing at different times of the year. In larger farms, they are likely to work on a rotation system with other members of staff. This will include early mornings, evenings and weekends. There may be opportunities for both full-time and part-time working.

Aquaculture husbandry workers need to be comfortable working over water. Most working time is spent outdoors in all weather conditions. The work itself is active and involves a lot of heavy lifting, standing, bending and carrying.

Husbandry workers may need to collect feed or equipment and make deliveries of fish, so a full driving license is normally needed.

In most cases, aquaculture husbandry workers have to live in a rural or remote area, close to water. Furthermore, they need to be able to cope with the sight of blood.

Other titles

The following job titles also refer to aquaculture husbandry worker:

fish farming husbandry worker
aquaculture on-growing worker
aquatic animals husbandry worker

Minimum qualifications

No formal educational credential is generally required to work as aquaculture husbandry worker. An apprenticeship program may be enough; otherwise, a previous work experience, on a farm or working with animals, is useful.

ISCO skill level

ISCO skill level is defined as a function of the complexity and range of tasks and duties to be performed in an occupation. It is measured on a scale from 1 to 4, with 1 the lowest level and 4 the highest, by considering:

  • the nature of the work performed in an occupation in relation to the characteristic tasks and duties
  • the level of formal education required for competent performance of the tasks and duties involved and
  • the amount of informal on-the-job training and/or previous experience in a related occupation required for competent performance of these tasks and duties.

Aquaculture husbandry worker is a Skill level 2 occupation.

Aquaculture husbandry worker career path

Similar occupations

These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to aquaculture husbandry worker.

aquaculture hatchery worker
water-based aquaculture technician
aquaculture harvesting technician
aquaculture husbandry technician
aquaculture rearing technician

Long term prospects

These occupations require some skills and knowledge of aquaculture husbandry worker. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of aquaculture husbandry worker with a significant experience and/or extensive training.

aquaculture site supervisor
fisheries observer
aquaculture quality supervisor
flight operations officer
fisheries refrigeration engineer

Essential knowledge and skills

Essential knowledge

This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of aquaculture husbandry worker.

  • Rope manipulation: Rope manipulation which relates to knotting and splicing.
  • Biosecurity: Be aware of the general principles of the concept of bio-security and in particular, the disease prevention rules to be implemented in case of epidemics endangering public health.

Essential skills and competences

These skills are necessary for the role of aquaculture husbandry worker.

  • Maintain aquaculture ponds: Clean equipment and treatment tools. Drain and clean aquaculture ponds using brushes, chemicals, and water. Prepare holding containers for fish and change the nets. Conduct swimthroughs. Stock fish in holding units. Collect dead fish in holding units.
  • Follow hygienic practices in fishery operations: Comply with the right regulations and practices for hygienically handling fishery related tasks and responsibilities in fishery operations.
  • Collect dead fish: Gather dead fish in recipients like tanks and cages.
  • Load equipment: Handle safe loading of equipment in given restrictive conditions.
  • Clean aquaculture stock units: Clean and disinfect equipment and treatment systems, as well as holding units such as tanks.
  • Use water disinfection equipment: Operate equipment for water disinfection, using different methods and techniques, such as mechanical filtration, depending on needs.
  • Maintain aquaculture water quality: Maintain water quality in ponds, lagoons and sluices.
  • Stock fish into holding units: Place fish into holding units. Maintain adequate environmental conditions within the unit.
  • Carry out feeding operations: Carry out manual feeding. Calibrate and operate automatic and computerised feeding systems.
  • Operate forklift: Operate a forklift, a vehicle with a pronged device in front for lifting and carrying heavy loads.
  • Monitor fish health status: Monitor the health of fish, based on feeding and general behaviour. Interpret environmental parameters and analyse mortalities.
  • Maintain aquaculture water quality in hatcheries: Measure flow of water in tanks and natural freshwater bodies. Measure parameters of water quality, such as pH, temperature, oxygen, salinity, CO2, N2, NO2, NH4, turbidity, and chlorophyll.
  • Operate biological filtration: Operate biological filtration in aquaculture facilities.
  • Assist with vaccination procedures: Assist skilled professional with immersions and injection vaccination procedures.
  • Measure the impact of specific aquaculture activity: Identify and measure the biological, physico-chemical impacts of specific aquaculture farm activity on the environment. Carry out all necessary tests, including collection and processing of samples for analysis.
  • Identify aquaculture species: Identify major European farmed fish, shellfish and crustacean species.
  • Unload equipment: Handle safe unloading of equipment in given restrictive conditions.
  • Perform fish grading operations: Gather live fish using techniques which minimise the stress caused to fish and avoid fish escapes occurring. Grade them manually or using equipment. Report on the grading operation, ensuring compliance with specifications.
  • Collect growth rate information: Collect information on growth rate in farm aquatic species.
  • Operate fish capture equipment: Operate fish capture equipment, for grading, sampling or harvesting purposes.
  • Work in shifts: Work in rotating shifts, where the goal is to keep a service or production line running around the clock and each day of the week.
  • Screen live fish deformities: Examine live fish, including larvae, to detect deformities related to body shape, jaw deformity, vertebral deformity and skeletal deformity. If not detected, these could lead to risks for fish, such as swimming performance, feed efficiency, limit of the feed, infectious disease and lethality.
  • Carry out preparations for fish disease specialist: Prepare environment and equipment for fish disease specialist treatments, including vaccination treatments.
  • Prepare fish holding units: Clean the holding unit before receiving fish. Determine the water volume and flow rate. Prevent leaks. Conduct swim through.
  • Manure aquaculture ponds: Manure aquaculture ponds
  • Use aquaculture heavy equipment: Perform manual operations such as manually lift, transfer position and set down a load. Operate lifting gear such as winch, sea crane, telescopic loader, and forklift.
  • Transport fish: Capture, load, transport, unload and stock live and harvested fish, molluscs, crustaceans from farm to client. Maintain water quality during transport to reduce stress.
  • Collect fish samples for diagnosis: Collect fish and shellfish samples for diagnosis by fish diseases specialists.
  • Monitor water quality: Measure water quality: temperature, oxygen, salinity, pH, N2, NO2,NH4, CO2, turbidity, chlorophyll. Monitor microbiological water quality.
  • Use oxygenation equipment: Operate different water oxygenation systems according to requirements: surface aerators, paddle wheel aerators, column/cascade aerators, and pure oxygenation systems.
  • Carry out maintenance of aquaculture equipment: Maintain aquaculture equipment and identify equipment needs. Carry out routine maintenance and minor repairs as needed.
  • Maintain aquaculture containers: Clean and disinfect equipment and treatment systems. Drain and clean aquaculture tanks and troughs using brushes, chemicals, and water. Prepare fish holding units to receive fish and change nets. Conduct swimthroughs. Stock fish in holding units. Collect dead fish in holding units.
  • Follow safety precautions in fishery operations: Comply with policies and institutional regulations to guarantee a safe workplace for employees in fishery and aquaculture operations. Deal with potential risks and dangers by taking appropriate safety measures.
  • Collect biological data: Collect biological specimens, record and summarise biological data for use in technical studies, developing environmental management plans and biological products.
  • Measure water flow: Measure water flow, water intakes and catchments.

Optional knowledge and skills

Optional knowledge

This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of aquaculture husbandry worker. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

Optional skills and competences

These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of aquaculture husbandry worker. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.

ISCO group and title

6221 – Aquaculture workers


References
  1. ESCO
  2. Planit : Job Profiles : Fish Farm Worker Aquaculture and Fishing
  3. Fish Husbandry Worker | Lantra – Scotland
  4. Featured image: Photo by Milo Weiler on Unsplash
Last updated on June 8, 2022

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