Aquaculture farms occur both on land and in marine environments. Different species are farmed in different regions of Australia and some States and Territories specialise in specific species.

Land based farms can involve hatchery, nursery and grow out operations and cover fin fish. Marine farms have traditionally involved growing oysters and mussels but more recently, new marine farms have been established to grow out various fin fish in sea cages.

What sort of jobs are out there?

Aquaculture Farm Hand

Most employees are general farm hands. The duties can be varied and on land based farms involve cleaning tanks and ponds, feeding, pipe and pump maintenance, general construction, storage and packing. Most marine farms are serviced by small vessels and involve such tasks as small boat skills, feeding, sea cage maintenance, diving, gathering stock and packing.

Marine Biologist

Most farms employ a specialist person to check on the quality of the water and the growth and health of the fish stocks. Much of this work involves laboratory analysis tasks and assessment of the health and quality of the whole fish farm.

Aquaculture Manager

All farms have a manager or manager/owner who is responsible for the effective management of the farm and development of markets for the product. The positions vary considerably often depending on the size of the farm. In larger farms, there is often an administration office with clerical support staff performing a number of tasks.

Qualifications and occupations

Bolding indicates a qualification appears on the Victorian Funded Course List, meaning subsidies are available for eligible students. Refer to the latest Funded Course List for more information.