Water-based aquaculture worker
Also called water-based fish farm worker, water-based fisheries worker, water-based fish culture worker
Water-based aquaculture workers carry out manual activities in the ongrowing processes of cultured aquatic organisms in water-based suspended systems (floating or submerged structures). They participate in extraction operations and the handling of organisms for commercialisation. Water-based aquaculture workers maintain and clean facilities (nets, mooring ropes, cages).
What you'd do
Fishery and aquaculture labourers · ILO- Cleaning the sea-bed and feeding fish and molluscs that are being cultivated
- Gathering seaweed, sea mosses, clams and other molluscs
- Preparing nets, lines and other fishing tackle and other deck equipment
- Operating fishing gear to catch fish and other marine life
- Cleaning, sorting and packing fish and seafood in ice and salt, and stowing catch in hold
- Cleaning deck surfaces and fish hold
- Handling mooring lines during docking
- Mostly outdoors
- On your feet most of the day
- Lots of contact with people
- Some freedom to decide
- Often more than 40 hours a week
- Few deadlines
- Some repetitive tasks
Will there be jobs?
Limited prospectsFewer jobs than in most work will need filling by 2035.
Solid: measured. Dashed: forecast.
What does it pay?
Below averagePay depends a lot on the country: from about €700 a month (Bulgaria) to €3,800 (Denmark), before tax.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see typical pay there, for people under 30, and compared with all jobs.
Among elementary occupations in the EU, women earn 9% less per hour than men. Elementary occupations · Eurostat
What do I need to study?
Basic schoolingMost people start with basic schooling and learn on the job.
Pick a country at the top of the page to see where to study and the official course finders.
Will AI change it?
Very littleAI could help with only small parts of the tasks.
Average task score 0.11 on a scale from 0 (AI can't do it) to 1 (AI could do it fully).
See the score for each of the 7 tasks
Based on what AI could technically do when assessed in 2025. It is not a forecast for a future year, and not a forecast of job losses. Scores for fishery and aquaculture labourers. Source: ILO (2025), adapted (credits).