Sustainable Agriculture - Careers in Aquaculture and Aquaponics Farms

The Aquaculture workforce is composed of individuals with a wide range of skills and competencies such as fish farm laborers, divers and boat operators, hatchery employees, fish feed producers, transportation and processing plant workers. There are also professional service providers, such as researchers, accountants, lawyers and veterinarians, and finally marketing, sales and administrative employees. The field of Aquaculture also has many self employed person's with family sized or larger farms.

Aquaculture Employment Statistics

It is estimated that In 2002 the Canadian commercial aquaculture sector provided over 14,000 jobs nationally, of which more than 8,000 where in the production sector with the remainder being in the supply and services sectors (OCAD, 2002).

With respect to these direct jobs, close to 50% of those employed are less than 30 years old and the majority (over 90%) of workers live in rural and coastal communities (DFO, 2002). A recent economic analysis of the salmon-farming sector in Charlotte County, New Brunswick, indicates that 75% of the employees are less than 40 years old (Cooke and Steward, 2001).

Aquaculture is a decidedly rural industry. Industry statistics support the estimates that 95% of aquaculture activities occur in rural/coastal areas.

On a world wide basis, the number of individuals earning an income from primary sector employment in fisheries and aquaculture in 2002 reached about 38 million, a marginal increase over 2001. Of these, more than one-third were employed full-time and the rest were part-time and occasional workers. Together, this workforce represented 2.8 percent of the 1.33 billion people who were economically active in agriculture worldwide, compared with 2.3 percent in 1990. The highest numbers of fishers and aquaculture workers (85 percent worldwide) are in Asia, with China accounting for nearly one-third of the world total. The share of employment in capture fisheries is stagnating in the most important fishing nations and increased opportunities are being provided by aquaculture. Since 2000, however, in some developed countries, employment in aquaculture has started to level off, in parallel with the observed slowdown in the growth of production for some species. Source: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) 2004

Although the national statistics available to FAO are often too irregular and lacking in detail to permit a more in-depth analysis of the employment structure at world level, it is apparent that, in most important fishing nations that systematically provide this information, the share of employment in capture fisheries is stagnating and increased opportunities are being provided by aquaculture.

Coastal and Rural Opportunities

The aquaculture sector requires a skilled workforce. In aquaculture, the majority of jobs are well paying. As an alternative activity, aquaculture is still at a preliminary stage of economic development in several geographical areas but is of enormous significance for the future. There is also potential for increased well-being of coastal communities and First Nations. Limited government intervention will be required to realize the full potential of aquaculture for the economies of rural and coastal communities, while ensuring that environmental sustainability is respected.

The decline in population in rural areas to the benefit of urban centers is a reality in many parts of the country. Aquaculture companies across Canada represent a vital contributor to rural and coastal economic growth, thus enabling young people to stay and prosper in their communities rather than having to move elsewhere.

The value of the aquaculture industry’s contribution to the economy of coastal areas is not always fully recognized. “Nevertheless, its contribution is extremely significant, all the more so, given that the sector is a substitute to the decline of traditional fishing resources and at the same time it helps diversify regional employment.” (Beaudin, 2001).

The potential of Fish farming as an agriculture supplement or alternative crop, is also garnering considerable attention within rural farming areas where economic decline has had a similar effect upon the population of rural farming communities. The integration of aquaculture within traditional agriculture could provide considerable opportunity for economic development and employment, within existing farming operations.