Description
Raise, breed, and harvest fish and other aquatic organisms in ponds, tanks, raceways, or net pens. Monitor water quality, health, growth, and feeding to meet production and welfare standards. Operate and maintain culture systems and vessels, ensure biosecurity and regulatory compliance, and handle harvest, packing, and shipment.
- • Inspect cages, ponds, and nets; remove mortalities; repair and reposition gear.
- • Obtain permits, leases, and site access for aquaculture operations.
- • Travel by boat or vehicle to farm sites, ponds, and net pens.
- • Operate workboats and skiffs; use navigation and safety gear and follow weather advisories.
- • Bleed, ice, and dress harvested fish or prepare live-haul for transport.
- • Maintain and repair nets, cages, feeders, pumps, aerators, and filters.
- • Clean and disinfect tanks, raceways, and equipment to maintain biosecurity.
- • Deploy, anchor, and retrieve cages, nets, screens, and moorings.
- • Maintain engines, pumps, generators, feeders, and other farm equipment; perform minor repairs.
- • Grade, sort, and pack fish for live-haul or chilled shipment with ice.
- • Sample and grade fish for size and quality; ensure harvest meets market and regulatory specs.
- • Monitor stock distribution and behavior using cameras, sensors, or feeding observations.
- • Obtain approvals for medications, chemicals, or treatments; post notices and document use.
- • Monitor fish health, feed intake, growth, and signs of stress or disease.
- • Plan farm layouts and moorings and record pen positions using GPS and site maps.
- • Set feeding rates and schedules based on species, size, biomass, and environmental conditions.
- • Attach nets, brailers, and lifting gear to cranes or winches for handling cages and fish.
- • Implement predator control, biosecurity, vaccinations or treatments, and assist with research trials.
- • Coordinate live-haul or chilled transport to processors or buyers; complete shipping documents.
- • Test and record water quality (dissolved oxygen, temperature, pH, ammonia, salinity) and adjust aeration, flow, and feeding accordingly.
- • Transfer eggs, fry, and fingerlings between hatchery, nursery, and grow-out units using nets and pumps.
- • Humanely harvest or cull fish using approved stunning or euthanasia methods.
- • Maintain production records for feed, growth, mortalities, treatments, and water quality.
- • Sanitize tanks, nets, boats, and processing tools with approved cleaners and disinfectants.
- • Rig nets, lines, and moorings with floats, sinkers, markers, lights, and predator panels.
- • Train crew in feeding, sampling, fish handling, biosecurity, and safety procedures.
- • Load and unload feed, nets, oxygen cylinders, and supplies by hand or with hoisting equipment.
- • Harvest fish using seines, brailers, crowding systems, pumps, or nets.
- • Direct farm operations and supervise technicians and seasonal staff.
- • Oversee procurement of feed, medications, gear, and equipment; manage inventories and records.
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Tasks & skills:
O*NET occupational data (work activities, skills, knowledge).
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This site includes information from O*NET by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. Career Clutch has modified some of this information for student readability. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
Last reviewed: Jan 2026
