Overview
Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers include aquaculture support workers, marine plant gatherers, shellfish diggers and other labourers in aquaculture and fishing. Aquaculture support workers are employed by public or private fish hatcheries and commercial aquatic farms. Marine plant gatherers and mollusk harvesters may be self-employed.
This group performs some or all of the following duties:
Assist aquaculture technicians in the operation of fish hatcheries or other aquatic farms
Feed aquaculture stocks, vaccinate stocks, perform culling and marking or banding techniques and report any observed irregularities in stocks
Operate, maintain and clean pumps, filters, tanks and other aquaculture equipment and clean and maintain aquaculture enclosures
Keep daily records of water flow and fish, shellfish and marine plant samples
Grade and weigh aquaculture stocks
Prepare aquaculture stocks for market
Rake seaweed, dulse or Irish moss from beach, rocks or shallow water and load into a cart, wagon or other receptacles
Spread gatherings to dry and remove foreign objects
Transport gatherings to processing plant
Dig clams from beds with spades, forks or other instruments, or collect other mollusks
Clean, sort and transport mollusks to market
May operate boats for aquaculture operations.
Employment prospects
Annual salary
$41,712
$55,894
$80,254
Job openings
Use this interactive map to explore job openings in different regions across B.C.
British Columbia
39expected job openings (5-year forecast)
Education and training
Employment requirements
Some secondary school education is usually required.
Shellfish harvesters require commercial fishing licences.
Marine Emergency Duties certificate may be required for some occupations in this unit group.
Certification requirements
Post-secondary programs in B.C.
No post-secondary education required
No post-secondary education required. You can work in this career without post-secondary education. Some on the job training may be provided. With additional training or experience, you may be able to progress into higher level, supervisory or management positions.