Aquaculture Farmer
What the work is
Plans, organises, controls, coordinates and performs farming operations to breed and raise fish and other aquatic stock.
Would you enjoy the work?
These are the main tasks in the official description. Mark how each one sounds to you.
- Plans and coordinates the operations of hatcheries and grow-out operations to breed and produce aquatic stock such as fish, oysters, crayfish, marron or prawns
- Plans and coordinates the cultivation and production of seaweed for food, animal feed, biofuels and fertilisers
- Coordinates and oversees strategies to monitor the environment and maintain optimal growing conditions for aquatic stock and seaweed, minimise the impact of operations on the environment, and manage biosecurity and other risks
- Directs and oversees general aquaculture farming activities, including the provision and maintenance of farming infrastructure and equipment
- Directs and oversees the transportation of aquatic stock to new tanks, ponds, cages and floating net pens
- Coordinates and oversees harvesting, grading, processing and packaging operations for aquatic stock and seaweed
- Organises the sale, purchase and transportation of aquatic stock and seaweed
- Maintains and evaluates records of aquaculture farming activities, monitors market activity, and plans production accordingly
- Manages aquaculture farm business capital including budgeting, taxation, debt and loan management
- May select, train and supervise aquaculture farm staff and contractors
Try it
A simulation and a case study from this kind of work, set in a fictional barramundi and oyster farm on a coastal estuary. They are fictional.
The kind of days you could have
Good days
- A tank of fish you raised from tiny fingerlings reaches market size on time
- The water readings are steady and everything in the farm is behaving
- A chef tastes your oysters and asks where to order more
Hard days
- An alarm goes off at 3am and the water is changing faster than you can guess why
- Storms, heat or a spill upstream that you can do nothing about
- A buyer cancels an order just when the stock is ready
Written by Career Calling as a general guide. Real roles vary by employer and place.
Work a mission
Step into a simulated workplace in this field, with a brief from your manager.
Description and tasks: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Occupation Standard Classification for Australia, 2024, Version 1.0 (opens another site), occupation 151331, used under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. The skill guide above is our plain English summary.