aquaculture

Years ago I kept a young perch in an aquarium with a vision to see how much, and how quickly, it would grow. I borrowed a set of scales from my science teacher at school and was all prepared to make scientific history.

Unfortunately I had underestimated the greed of perch and came home after school to find my perch had decided to take charge of the situation. It had attempted to swallow one of the other inhabitants in the tank – a fish about two-thirds the size of the perch. The perch swum around for the rest of the day with the other unfortunate fish’s tail poking out its mouth. Next morning the perch was also dead.

I kept perch in tanks again, back then, but never explored their growth patterns. What would’ve been useful then is Perch Dissection in Mr. Tippett’s Biology Class. This excellent set of photos clearly shows the inner workings of a fish.

Historically, training within trades or industry has either been in an apprentice/tradesman type approach or an uncoordinated approach where a qualification might not be recognised in another part of the country or even with another employer located nearby. New Zealand has taken a very coordinated approach to industry training, with over 40 industry training organisations.

SITO is the Industry Training Organisation (ITO) for New Zealand’s seafood industry. Each year they are allocated funds by New Zealand’s Tertiary Education Commission (TEC) to encourage businesses in the seafood sector to provide training for their employees. SITO provides a link between the Tertiary Education Commission and the seafood industry; and ensure funding provided by the Government for industry training in the seafood industry is used effectively.

SITO is developing NZ Aquaculture Best Practice Guideline and a NZ training structure, including developing and reviewing Aquaculture Learning Resources during 2005. They have written a number of unit standards (of assessment) which are registered on the NZ Qualifications Authority (NZQA) web site. These unit standards build into national certificates and qualifications, the content of which can be found on the NZQA web site – search keyword: aquaculture.

SITO have developed a couple of learning resources – one on the biology of a fin fish – Chinook Salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), and another entitled: Outline How NZ Greenshell™ Mussel (kutai, kuku) Spat Are Obtained And Used.

The unit standards and assessment guidelines can be found on the SITO web site. Please don’t consider this entry to be 100% current – it is as written – but it is a changing world, and SITO will be keeping up to date.

Challenger TAFE’s aquaculture development unit has won a $AU600,000 federal grant to test an innovative aquaculture system that it developed in conjunction with an industry partner, McRobert Aquaculture Systems. The semi-intensive floating tank system, nicknamed SIFTS, featured on the ABC?s New Inventors programme in May 2005.

The SIFTS technology will be suitable for growing fish in freshwater and marine environments as well as in saline ponds in inland areas of Australia. Challenger TAFE’s research partners are CY O’Connor College of TAFE and Murdoch University. Australian Fisheries and Conservation Minister Senator Ian Macdonald said SIFTS showed considerable promise as it would allow for growing large numbers of fish at low cost, and with minimal environmental impacts. “SIFTS consists of specially designed floating tanks that sit within an inland saline pond, using the water while ensuring that the wastes are retained or used for fertilising certain crops such as fodder and turf,” Macdonald said.

Campus Review Vol 15, No. 21, page 10. 1 June 2005. title: A fishy tale at Challenger. www.campusreview.com.au

The NMIT (Northern Melbourne Institute of TAFE – (Technical and Further Education)) has appointed Dr SMA Mobin, an aquatic pathologist and aquaculturalist, as a foundation senior lecturer in the new bachelor of applied aquaculture degree. Mobin holds a PhD in marine science, a BSc in fisheries, and a MSc in fisheries biology and limnology. He was previously a research scientist and affliate assistant professor at the University of Idaho for natural science. He has also worked in Japan. NMIT is the first Victorian TAFE to offer a degree in Applied Aquaculture. More about this specialist three-year degree in aquaculture… the web site also has some great images of various fish and shellfish (abalone) being cultured.