Description
Aquaculture site supervisors supervise production processes in large-scale aquaculture operations and inspect aquaculture sites to maintain and improve performance. They maintain the health, safety and security of the workplace, develop management plans to reduce the risks from pests, predators and diseases and supervise both the disposal of bio and chemical waste and the maintenance of equipment and machinery.
Other titles
The following job titles also refer to aquaculture site supervisor:
fish culture site supervisor
fish farm site supervisor
fish farm site manager
supervisor of aquaculture sites
fish culture site manager
fishery site supervisor
Minimum qualifications
A bachelor’s degree in aquaculture or a related field is generally the minimum required to work as an aquaculture site supervisor. Some employers may accept candidates with a lower degree and a significant work experience in this area.
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 site supervisor is a Skill level 3 occupation.
Aquaculture site supervisor career path
Similar occupations
These occupations, although different, require a lot of knowledge and skills similar to aquaculture site supervisor.
fire protection technician
fire inspector
construction safety manager
aeronautical information specialist
flight operations officer
Long term prospects
These occupations require some skills and knowledge of aquaculture site supervisor. They also require other skills and knowledge, but at a higher ISCO skill level, meaning these occupations are accessible from a position of aquaculture site supervisor with a significant experience and/or extensive training.
aquaculture production manager
aquaculture husbandry manager
aquaculture recirculation manager
aquaculture harvesting manager
programme funding manager
Essential knowledge and skills
Essential knowledge
This knowledge should be acquired through learning to fulfill the role of aquaculture site supervisor.
- Water currents: Understand impact of water currents on fish farms, in cages, ponds, lagoons and rivers.
- Fish identification and classification: The processes which allow the identification and classification of fish.
- Response to health emergencies: The methods for responding quickly to health emergencies in the workplace.
- Animal welfare legislation: The legal boundaries, codes of professional conduct, national and EU regulatory frameworks and legal procedures of working with animals and living organisms, ensuring their welfare and health.
- Water policies: Have a solid understanding of policies, strategies, institutions, and regulations concerning water.
- Understand fresh water ecosystems: Understand fresh water ecosystems.
- Fighting fires at aquaculture facilities: The methods and equipment required to extinguisht fires occured in aquaculture settings.
- Design principles of containment systems: The design elements of different containment systems, such as cages, pens, nets, ponds and tanks.
- Principles of insurance: Understand the principles of insurance, including third party liability, stock and facilities.
- Fire-fighting systems: The devices and systems used to extinguish fires; the classes and chemistry of fire.
- Incidents and accidents recording: The methods to report and record incidents and accidents in the workplace.
- 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 site supervisor.
- Maintain safety systems: Perform activities for the maintenance of fire fighting and related safety systems.
- Maintain aquaculture water quality: Maintain water quality in ponds, lagoons and sluices.
- Develop aquaculture strategies: Cultivate strategies for aquaculture plans based on reports and research in order to deal with specific fish farm issues. Plan and organise work activities in order to improve aquaculture production and tackle further problems.
- Maintain aquaculture equipment: Supervise and maintain aquaculture equipment and machinery, such as containment systems, lifting gear, transportation gear, disinfection equipment, heating equipment, oxygenation equipment, electrical equipment, air lift pumps, submersible pumps, live fish pumps, vacuum pumps.
- Supervise waste disposal: Supervise disposal of biological waste and chemical waste according to regulations.
- Inspect aquaculture equipment: Inspect aquaculture harvesting tools and machinery to ensure that they work properly.
- Keep task records: Organise and classify records of prepared reports and correspondence related to the performed work and progress records of tasks.
- Prepare work instructions: Organise work methodology and route of action for new tasks.
- Establish site security routines: Set up security routines on site.
- Oversee maintenance work: Oversee the landscaping maintenance work: mowing, strimming, spraying, weeding and pruning.
- Identify risks in aquaculture facilities: Identify the hazards and evaluate the risks to health and safety in aquaculture facilities.
- Select aquaculture equipment: Determine aquaculture equipment in accordance with the needs of the company.
- Make time-critical decisions: Pursue optimal time-critical decision making within the organisation.
- Write work-related reports: Compose work-related reports that support effective relationship management and a high standard of documentation and record keeping. Write and present results and conclusions in a clear and intelligible way so they are comprehensible to a non-expert audience.
- Control aquatic production environment: Assess the impact of biological conditions such as algae and fouling organisms by managing water intakes, catchments and oxygen use.
- Develop management plans to reduce risks in aquaculture: Develop a management plan to reduce the risks from pests, predators and diseases. Supervise implementation of plan, especially disease prevention measures, throughout the aquaculture facility.
- Supervise aquaculture facilities: Supervise aquaculture facilities and identify equipment needs. Understand aquaculture equipment drawings, plans, and design principles of different containment systems.
- Manage water flows and catchments: Manage water flows and catchments in ponds, lagoons and sluices.
- Ensure aquaculture personnel health and safety: Make sure that health and safety procedures have been established and followed across all aquaculture facilities including cages. Ensure that personnel and general public are instructed and all work activities are carried out according to relevant health and safety regulations.
- Develop contingency plans for emergencies: Compose procedures outlining specific actions to be taken in the event of an emergency, taking into account all the risks and dangers that could be involved, ensuring that the plans comply with safety legislation and represent the safest course of action.
- Supervise waste water treatments: Supervise waste water treatment according to environmental regulations.
- Provide on-site training in aquaculture facilities: Provide on-site training in aquaculture facilities, through instruction and demonstration of skills. Provide, implement and supervise a training development plan.
Optional knowledge and skills
Optional knowledge
This knowledge is sometimes, but not always, required for the role of aquaculture site supervisor. However, mastering this knowledge allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Aquaculture cultivation equipment: Understand aquaculture cultivation equipment drawings and plans
- Escapee contingency plans: The procedures to follow in case there are escapees from cage systems.
Optional skills and competences
These skills and competences are sometimes, but not always, required for the role of aquaculture site supervisor. However, mastering these skills and competences allows you to have more opportunities for career development.
- Work in outdoor conditions: Can cope with the different climate conditions such as heat, rain, cold or in strong wind.
- Work in a fishery team: Work as part of a crew or team, and meet team deadlines and responsibilities together.
- Lead a team: Lead, supervise and motivate a group of people, in order to meet the expected results within a given timeline and with the foreseen resources in mind.
- Coordinate shifts: Manage coordination of all activities across each shift.
- Use geographic information systems: Work with computer data systems such as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).
- Plan the work of teams and individuals: Plan the work of teams and individuals. Assess the work of teams and individuals. Provide feedback to teams and individuals on work carried out. Support and mentor individuals and teams. Prepare work instructions for new tasks.
- Undertake continuous professional development in fishery operations: Initiate and progress in life long learning of the different challenging activities and operations which take place on board of a fishing vessel or in an aquaculture facility.
- 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.
- Plan teamwork: Plan the working schedule of a group of people in order to meet all time and quality requirements.
- Manage time in fishery operations: Ensure an efficient management of work schedules meant for fishery and aquaculture activities.
- Operate small craft: Operate small craft used for transport and feeding.
- Make improvements to work activities: Make recommendations for improvements to work activities
- Implement contingency plans for escapees: Carry out contingency plans for cage escapees. Carry out fish capture escape operations.
- Work in inclement conditions: Work outdoors in hot or cold circumstances.
- Prepare for small craft operation: Prepare for personnel operation of small craft, both with licence and without licence.
- Operate an emergency communication system: Efficiently operate common communication systems used in emergencies, such as base station mobile transmitters and receivers, portable transmitters and receivers, repeaters, cellular phones, pagers, automated vehicle locators, and satellite phones as required.
- Communicate in English in a competent way: Competent use of English; R351refers to level C1 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR).
ISCO group and title
3142 – Agricultural technicians
References
- Aquaculture site supervisor – ESCO
- Featured image: Photo by Bob Brewer on Unsplash