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EDUCATING THE future aquaculture workforce B ack in 2011 Nelson Marlborough Institute of Technology launched the first and only Diploma in Aquaculture in New Zealand, and since then the two year programme has gone from strength to strength with the first graduates now working in industry. Graduates have found work at companies including the Cawthron Institute, Oyster and Salmon farms in Australia, Mt Cook Alpine Salmon, King Salmon, Ministry of Primary Industries, Sealord, Kono and Plant and Food Research – many secured jobs before they had even finished studying. Around 70 percent of New Zealand's aquaculture industry is based in the Top of the South, with more than 2,500 people employed in the sector. But its continued expansion relies on the training and development of a young, skilled workforce nationwide. NMIT aquaculture programme co-ordinator, Dr Mark Burdass, says the Institute has worked closely with industry partners on the Diploma, including New Zealand King Salmon, Sealord, Aquaculture New Zealand, Aotearoa Seafoods, Cawthron Institute and the Marine Farming Association, to ensure the two-year programme is at the cutting edge of aquaculture training nationally. "There is an increasing need for qualified, professional people The new seahorses are already behaving like fussy kids 8 ■ NZ AQUACULTURE ■ JULY/AUGUST 2013 to work in the industry," he says. "We are engaging directly with the aquaculture industry to give our students relevant training and real experiences while they learn." Content for the Diploma includes aquatic animal anatomy and physiology; aquatic ecology; fishery management; aquaculture; fish and shellfish health and nutrition; Maori aquaculture interests; business and environmental management – some of which is delivered at Cawthron Institutes' Glenhaven Aquaculture Park north of Nelson City. The NMIT facilities at Cawthron Institute's aquaculture park now have three new tenants – following the arrival of a group of seahorses from Tory Channel. The seahorses' arrival at the park on May 7, 2013 marks the start of the NMIT aquaculture programme's first seahorse colony. "Rearing these seahorses will be a great way for our aquaculture students to gain additional experience in hatching and rearing marine organisms, they are already behaving like fussy kids in terms of what they want to eat, eating one type of food first before they will eat the food which is better for them!" Mark says. "The rearing process for most marine fish is very similar - whether it's a seahorse or a kingfish, there are only minor differences and the fundamental process is still the same. Our students will be able to apply what they learn from working with these seahorses, to any other marine fish-rearing process." The seahorses have been sourced from a salmon farm in Marlborough Sounds where they are often found feeding amongst the cages living on ropes around the farm. They are currently housed in a series of marine glass tanks and fed a variety of small marine shrimps. "The marine fish we could be rearing are often really huge, like groper or kingfish, however, rearing of young marine fish is very similar and we have the opportunity to rear seahorses which are such an iconic New Zealand species. Seahorses around the world are endangered so these native seahorses or fat-bellied seahorses are a really great species for our students to learn about as well as grow and spawn," Mark says. This latest addition to NMIT's operations follows expansions last year, which included a marine hatchery for fish and shellfish, a set of marine on-growing tank systems and a teaching laboratory. NMIT also has a set of tanks at its campus in Nelson where students rear Chinook salmon, and has established fish rearing projects at primary and secondary schools in Nelson and Golden Bay to provide pathways into aquaculture. NMIT is also engaging with local colleges to provide pathways into aquaculture, and nurturing budding marine scientists in local primary schools. It has established fish rearing projects at several local colleges and primary schools. In addition, NMIT provides training to the Queen Charlotte College Aquaculture Academy, which is a partnership between Queen Charlotte College and the Marine Farming Association to offer Aquaculture courses at year 11, 12 and 13 levels. New Zealand King Salmon supports the initiative through an $11,000 scholarship for Queen Charlotte College students studying aquaculture at NMIT. NMIT's next intake for the Diploma in Aquaculture is 15 July 2013 and $1,000 relocation scholarships are available for students outside the Nelson-Tasman-Marlborough region. For further information, visit www.nmit.ac.nz