Run the live feed room and nursery system checks

You are a Hatchery Technician on the afternoon shift.

Simulated workplaceIntermediate missionCAQA Coastline Seafood

What is going on

The hatchery is mid-season with larvae in the rearing tanks and juveniles in the nursery recirculating system RAS 2. Your afternoon shift covers the live feed room, where algae and rotifer cultures must be counted, fed and harvested to supply the larval tanks, and RAS 2, where the full water quality set must be recorded each shift and alarms tested on Wednesday. A hose left running across the algae room floor caused a near miss on Tuesday, and the Hatchery Manager wants the floor kept dry and the handover checklist followed. Any parameter drift on RAS 2 must be reported before the end of the shift, and any sign of disease in juveniles must be reported under the biosecurity policy.

Dr Elena Vasquez, Hatchery Manager
Subject: Live feed and nursery system checks this week

I need you to take the afternoon shift on the live feed room and the nursery recirculating system for the rest of the week. That means counting and feeding the rotifer cultures, checking the algae, recording the full water quality set on RAS 2 each shift and testing the alarms on Wednesday. A hose was left running across the algae room floor on Tuesday and someone nearly went over, so keep the floor dry and follow the handover checklist. Enter everything in the Farm Stock and Water Quality Log and tell me straight away if any parameter drifts.

Your brief

Maintain the live feed cultures to the production schedule, record the full water quality set and alarm test on RAS 2, keep the work area safe, identify and report any drift or disease sign, and complete the shift handover so the night shift starts with accurate information.

Work through it

You do not need to do it all. Doing a few of these will show you what the work is like. Your ticks and notes stay on this device.

Read the hatchery sections of the Water Quality Monitoring Procedure and the Biosecurity and Stock Health Policy, and list the parameters, limits and reporting rules for RAS 2.
Complete the shift start walk of the algae room and RAS 2, checking floors, hoses and drainage, and record any hazard on the Incident and Hazard Report Form.
Count the rotifer cultures with the counting chamber, calculate density, and feed and harvest the cultures to the daily larval feed requirement, recording counts and volumes in the Farm Stock and Water Quality Log.
Check the algae cultures for colour, density and contamination, and record the check and any culture restarted.
Record dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate on RAS 2 from the probes with a handheld cross check, and enter the set in the log with the time.
Test the RAS 2 alarms for low oxygen and low flow, record the result, and observe the juveniles for feeding response, behaviour and any sign of disease, reporting anything unusual to the Hatchery Manager.
Where any parameter is outside its limit, record the corrective action taken and escalate before the end of the shift.
Complete the shift handover checklist for the night shift, including culture status, water quality, alarms and any open action.

My notes: what did I enjoy, and what surprised me?

What someone in this role would produce

Farm Stock and Water Quality Log entries for the live feed cultures and RAS 2
The rotifer density calculation and feed volumes
The alarm test record
A completed shift handover checklist

Printing this is a record of what you explored. It is not a certificate or a qualification.