How to become an Aquaculture Worker

Performs routine tasks in breeding and raising fish and other aquatic stock.

Main tasks

• Feeds and grades fish, and monitors their growth
• Assists with farm layout and constructs nets, long-lines and cages
• Checks and looks after equipment and fish housing, and operates pumps and other equipment
• Tests and checks on water quality, and removes dead or dying fish
• Harvests fish and other aquatic stock, and sorts and packs it for transportation
• Restocks pens, pools, tanks, ponds, rivers and dams with juvenile fish
• Collects and records growth, production and water quality data
• May operate lifting equipment such as forklifts and small cranes

Ways in

• TAFE and VET: Certificate III in Aquaculture (SFI30119); Certificate III in Seafood Post Harvest Operations (SFI30319); Certificate IV in Aquaculture (SFI40119); Certificate II in Aquaculture (SFI20119); Certificate II in Seafood Post Harvest Operations (SFI20319)

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

• About 700 people work in this job group now, and about 900 are projected by 2035. (+18%)
• AI is more likely to help with parts of this job than to do it. Jobs and Skills Australia rates its automation exposure as low.

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• Fruit Picker
• Vegetable Picker
• Cotton Farm Worker
• Fruit Farm Worker
• Grain, Oilseed, Pulse and Pasture Farm Worker

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Questions people ask

How do I become an Aquaculture Worker?

Ways in include: Certificate III in Aquaculture; Certificate III in Seafood Post Harvest Operations.

Is an Aquaculture Worker a growing career in Australia?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 18% by 2035, from about 700 to about 900 people (Jobs and Skills Australia).

Do you need a degree to become an Aquaculture Worker?

Usually not. Only 13% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher. Ways in include: Certificate III in Aquaculture; Certificate III in Seafood Post Harvest Operations.

Will AI change the work of an Aquaculture Worker?

AI is more likely to help with parts of this job than to do it. Jobs and Skills Australia rates its automation exposure as low.

Sources

• Jobs and Skills Australia: Occupation data (ANZSCO), from ABS Labour Force and Census (February 2026), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-04
• Jobs and Skills Australia: Generative AI Capacity Study, interactive table data (September 2025), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-04
• Jobs and Skills Australia: Employment Projections (Victoria University) (May 2025 to May 2035), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-04

Updated 2026-10-04