Profession aquaculture husbandry manager
Aquaculture husbandry managers specialise in the husbandry of ongrowing aquatic species, especially in the feeding, growth, and stock management processes.
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Personality Type
- Enterprising / Realistic
Knowledge
- Fish harvesting methods
Knowledge of up-to-date fish harvesting methods.
- Incidents and accidents recording
The methods to report and record incidents and accidents in the workplace.
- Escapee contingency plans
The procedures to follow in case there are escapees from cage systems.
- Fish biology
The study of fish, shellfish or crustacean organisms, categorized into many specialised fields that cover their morphology, physiology, anatomy, behaviour, origins and distribution.
- Rates of growth assessment
The different methods used to evaluate the growth of most important cultivated species.
- 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.
- Fish welfare regulations
The set of rules that apply in fish harvesting methods which ensure fish well-being.
- Fish grading
The method of how fish are graded according to their different characteristics: specification, size, quality and condition.
- 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.
- Husbandry and harvesting effects on aquatic resources
Understand husbandry and harvesting effects on aquatic resources, fish, molluscs and crustaceans.
- Aquaculture cultivation equipment
Understand aquaculture cultivation equipment drawings and plans
- Water currents
Understand impact of water currents on fish farms, in cages, ponds, lagoons and rivers.
- Aquaculture production planning software
The functioning principles and usage of a software dedicated to the planning of aquculture production.
Skills
- Monitor feeding systems
Make sure that feeders, feeding system and monitoring instruments are working. Analyse feedback from the instruments.
- Plan aquatic resources feeding regimes
Make the approapriate operations to ensure aquatic resources for feeding regimes, taking into consideration farming constraints:set up fish feeding regimes, check animal feeding behaviour and operate computerised feed systems.
- 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.
- Calculate aquatic resources growth rate
Calculate and forecast growth rates. Monitor and assess growth and biomass taking mortality into account, based on the different methods of growth assessment.
- Manage aquatic resources stock production
Set up a farm stock production spreadsheet and feed budget (feeding, growth, biomass, mortality, FCR, harvesting). Monitor and maintain stock production.
- Supervise pest and disease control
Scout for pest damage, order pesticides as needed and within given budget, supervise mixing and application of pesticides, maintain records of pesticide application.
- Interpret scientific data to assess water quality
Interpret biological and physico-chemical data to assess water quality.
- Identify risks in aquaculture facilities
Identify the hazards and evaluate the risks to health and safety in the workplace.
- Assess cage water quality
Carry out daily assessment of water quality parameters inside the cages such as temperature, oxygen, salinity, pH, N2, NO2,NH4, CO2, turbidity, chlorophyll. Monitor microbiological water quality.
- Ensure cage safety requirements are followed
Ensure that personnel comply with cage safety requirements.
- Implement contingency plans for escapees
Carry out contingency plans for cage escapees. Carry out fish capture escape operations.
- Collaborate with animal related professionals
Collaborate with veterinary and other animal related professionals through communication of animal details, case records and summary reports orally or via written or electronic transfer.
- Monitor the use of resources in production
Monitor the use of resources in production (e.g. food, oxygen, energy, water, resources etc.)
- Manage work
Supervise, instruct and plan work for teams or individual members of the team. Set up time schedules and make sure they are followed.
- Manage water flows and catchments
Manage water flows and catchments in ponds, lagoons and sluices.
- 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.
- Develop fish health and welfare management plans
Develop a fish health and welfare management plan which will include risks from diseases, predators, and pests.
- Handle veterinary emergencies
Handle unforeseen incidents concerning animals and circumstances which call for urgent action in an appropriate professional manner.
- 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 stock health programmes
Develop a health and welfare programme for those aquatic resources under cultivation, in consultation with the fish health specialist
- Ensure compliance with aquaculture standards
Ensure that operations comply with standards for sustainable aquaculture.
- Implement fin fish feeding regimes
Implement daily fin fish feeding regimes to take account of environmental variations. Check feeding regimes are followed through the accurate implementation of feeding procedures. Implement adjustments to feeding regimes to take account of fluctuations in production performance and variations in environmental conditions. Control specialist feeding regimes to support specified production requirements. Investigate changes in feeding behaviour to determine cause and required corrective action.
- Monitor fish mortality rates
Monitor fish mortalities and assess possible causes.
- Supervise waste water treatments
Supervise waste water treatment according to environmental regulations.
- 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.
- Supervise waste disposal
Supervise disposal of biological waste and chemical waste according to regulations.
Optional knowledge and skills
prepare for small craft operation communicate by telephone communicate in english at a competent user level maintain diving equipment critique the dive with the dive team have computer literacy organise training provide on-site training in aquaculture facilities evaluate training train employees check diving equipment identify training needs use a computer deliver online training communicate verbal instructions operate an emergency communication system perform diving interventions code of conduct for responsible fisheries diving operation requirements speak different languages use communication devices develop outreach training plans operate small craft conduct fish mortality studiesCommon job titles
- Aqs manager/stem coordinator
- Aquaculture specialist i
- Veterinarian - fish health
- Department chair - agriculture & animal sciences
- Dive program manager
- Ceed senior aquarist
- Part-time biologist
- Senior aquarist
- Lead aquaculture technician
- Oyster farm worker