Four years ago, I was a single parent who was looking for a new challenge and I was given the opportunity to work in the sales department of a fish farming company for 6 weeks. Following the take-over by a large Norwegian company, I was given the opportunity to stay working in the accounting department, before moving to the software / systems area.

I have been lucky enough to work in different parts of the organisation, including hands-on fish experience, such as the feeding and weighing of fish, and the analysis of processes and quality control. I have supplemented this work experience with formal training courses and qualification. I completed an SVQ (Scottish Vocational Qualifications) Level 2 in Fish Farming at Inverness College, as well as various Management Training Courses, during the last few years.

A large part of my current role is training staff in the use of the systems. I am also involved in production system development and testing, including the quality of information that is captured. The systems capture all the information about the fish, from the time they are received into hatchery as an egg, until their harvest up to three years later. Guidelines governing Aquaculture in this country are very strict, and as a company we have to be able to demonstrate that we are operating within the limits. We also react to customer demands, so we can produce a good quality fish, of an acceptable size, at a time when there is a customer demand paying due care and attention to the welfare of the fish during their lifetime.

Working in fish farming is a challenging career, with good career progression. Technical advances in Aquaculture over the past 20 years require staff to have a range of different skills in addition to growing and welfare skills. For example, the use of computers in recording and analysing statistics, feeding and feed monitoring systems and biomass measuring equipment.

There are also great management opportunities for people who have experience in both aquaculture and business. It is also very exciting – striving to increase performance while complying with the strict guidelines. I would definitely recommend working in fish farming, there are many opportunities out there for people joining this profession.