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Occupations / Aquaculture Farmers

Aquaculture Farmers

Aquaculture Farmers plan, organise, control, coordinate and perform farming operations to breed and raise fish and other aquatic stock.

Agriculture & environmentANZSCO 1211
1,886People employed
+18% ▲Growth to 2035
73%Work full time
47Median age
Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 1211.More about our sources: How we check our facts

What they do

The main tasks of this occupation, from the national occupation standard.

planning and coordinating the operation of hatcheries to produce fish fry, seed oysters, crayfish, marron and prawns taking into account environmental and market factorsmonitoring the environment to maintain optimal growing conditionsidentifying and controlling environmental toxins and diseasesmonitoring stock growth rates to determine when to harvesttransporting fish, crayfish, marron, prawns and sticks of seed oysters to new tanks, ponds, cages and floating net pensdirecting and overseeing the harvesting, grading and packaging of fish, oysters and other aquatic stock
Source: JSA occupation profileTask list from the Jobs and Skills Australia occupation profile for ANZSCO 1211 (ANZSCO task statements).More about our sources: How we check our facts

The outlook

Room for 300 more people in aquaculture farmers by 2035 ▲

The field shrank 2.4% in the year to February 2026. Most of the jobs are in TAS and NSW, with WA third.

Source: JSA · ABS, 2025-26ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 1211.More about our sources: How we check our facts
1.9k2025
2k2030 PROJ.
2.2k2035 PROJ.

Getting in

There is no single way in. 29% trained through VET, 21% hold a degree.

Both paths are common in this field. These are the nationally recognised courses mapped to this occupation, with the number of registered training providers that offer each one.

Source: JSA · training.gov.auEducation split: JSA (Jobs and Skills Australia) occupation profile, using ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Census data, ANZSCO 1211. Qualification mapping and provider counts: training.gov.au, the national register of vocational education, October 2026. Listed providers are current registered training providers (private providers and TAFE institutes).More about our sources: How we check our facts

Nationally recognised training · most offered first

SFI50119Diploma

Diploma of Aquaculture

Seafood Industry.

See 3 providers
SFI40219Certificate IV

Certificate IV in Seafood Post Harvest Operations

Seafood Industry.

See 0 providers

Providers are shown in A-Z order on each course page. A listing is not a recommendation.

Jobs open right now

1,886 Australians do this work. See who is hiring this month.

Search job ads by state

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Source: ABS · JSA, 2025-26State chart shows people employed, not current job ads. ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Labour Force via Jobs and Skills Australia (JSA), February 2026; ABS Employee Earnings and Hours May 2025; JSA Employment Projections, May 2025 base. ANZSCO 1211.More about our sources: How we check our facts

People employed by state, 2025-26

TAS0.6k
NSW0.3k
WA0.3k
VIC0.2k
QLD0.2k
SA0.2k
ACT0.1k
NT0.1k

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