Description
Harvest and cultivate oysters from reefs or leased beds using dredges, tongs, rakes, or cages. Operate workboats, cull and bag shellstock, and transport product while complying with tides, weather, permits, and shellfish sanitation regulations.
- • Direct harvesting operations and supervise deckhands.
- • Patrol oyster beds, cages, and longlines to inspect gear, harvest product, and reset or relocate equipment.
- • Obtain and maintain leases, harvesting licenses, and permissions for public or private shellfish grounds.
- • Travel by skiff or workboat to oyster reefs, leases, and grow-out sites.
- • Steer vessels and operate GPS, depth sounders, and plotters.
- • Shuck oysters when required, using knives and safe handling practices.
- • Maintain and repair dredges, hand tongs, rakes, cages, baskets, and lines.
- • Clean mud, barnacles, and biofouling from cages, gear, and oysters.
- • Deploy and tow dredges; set, anchor, and retrieve cages, racks, and longlines.
- • Maintain outboard or diesel engines, hydraulics, winches, and onboard equipment; perform minor repairs.
- • Cull and grade oysters by size and quality; bag, tag, and store on ice or in refrigerated holds.
- • Remove oysters from dredges or tongs and check size with culling boards or gauges; return undersized shellstock.
- • Locate productive beds using charts, sonar, GPS, and local knowledge.
- • Comply with seasons, size limits, closures, and health advisories; obtain required harvest permits.
- • Monitor spat set, bed condition, and growth through sampling and recordkeeping.
- • Compute positions and plot courses using charts, tides, and navigation instruments.
- • Plant seed or spat, set grow-out cages or bags at proper densities, and reposition as needed.
- • Attach dredges, baskets, and lifting slings to booms, davits, winches, or haulers.
- • Participate in predator control and disease monitoring; assist with reef restoration and management.
- • Transport harvested oysters to depuration sites, processors, wholesalers, or direct buyers.
- • Interpret tides, currents, weather, and vessel conditions to plan safe operations.
- • Transfer oysters to culling tables, baskets, or bags; move seed to grow-out gear.
- • Handle and store oysters to maintain shellstock quality and minimize mortality.
- • Rinse and cull oysters; remove dead or fouled shell; grade by count or size.
- • Wash decks, culling tables, bins, knives, and gear using brushes, detergents, and water; follow sanitation protocols.
- • Attach floats, weights, buoys, flags, lights, and ID tags to cages and markers.
- • Train and guide crew in oyster harvesting, culling standards, gear handling, and safety.
- • Load and unload gear, seed, bags, ice, and supplies by hand or with hoists and forklifts.
- • Harvest oysters using dredges, hand tongs, rakes, diving, or aquaculture methods.
- • Oversee the purchase of gear, seed, cages, fuel, ice, and safety equipment.
- • Maintain harvest logs, trip tickets, time-to-temperature records, and shellfish tags per HACCP and state rules.
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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
