National Occupational Classification (NOC): 85102
Fast Facts
- Average Pay: N/A
- Future Growth: N/A
- Skill Level: N/A
- Employment Size: N/A
- Unemployment: N/A
- Full-time Share: N/A
Sample Job Titles
- Aquaculture support worker
- Clam digger
- Dulse gatherer
- Fish farm helper
- Fish tagger
- Marine plant gatherer
- Oyster picker
- Sea farm attendant
- Seaweed gatherer
- Shellfish harvester
What do aquaculture and marine harvest labourers do?
Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers include aquaculture support workers, marine plant gatherers, shellfish diggers and other labourers in aquaculture and fishing. Aquaculture support workers are employed by public or private fish hatcheries and commercial aquatic farms. Marine plant gatherers and mollusk harvesters may be self-employed.
Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers perform some or all of the following duties:
- Assist aquaculture technicians in the operation of fish hatcheries or other aquatic farms.
- Feed aquaculture stocks, vaccinate stocks, perform culling and marking or banding techniques and report any observed irregularities in stocks.
- Operate, maintain and clean pumps, filters, tanks and other aquaculture equipment and clean and maintain aquaculture enclosures.
- Keep daily records of water flow and fish, shellfish and marine plant samples.
- Grade and weigh aquaculture stocks.
- Prepare aquaculture stocks for market.
- Rake seaweed, dulse or Irish moss from beach, rocks or shallow water and load into a cart, wagon or other receptacles.
- Spread gatherings to dry and remove foreign objects.
- Transport gatherings to processing plant.
- Dig clams from beds with spades, forks or other instruments, or collect other mollusks.
- Clean, sort and transport mollusks to market.
- May operate boats for aquaculture operations.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers work in the following subsectors (NAICS) in Newfoundland and Labrador:
- 114 Fishing, hunting and trapping
- 111-112 Farms
- 311 Food manufacturing
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada.
Short and Long Term Occupational Projections
Short Term Projections for 2023-2025
The employment outlook will be moderate for aquaculture and marine harvest labourers in Newfoundland and Labrador (rating of 3 out of 5) for the 2023-2025 period.
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Long Term Projections for 2023-2032
Aquaculture and marine harvest labourers belong to the broader occupational group 85101, 85102, 85120 (Harvesting aquaculture and forestry labourers). This group is forecast to be tightening (rating of 3.1 out of 4) over the next several years, meaning new labour supply will be required to meet anticipated job openings.
Source: Department of Finance, Occupation Projections (Summer 2023)
Number of Job Postings in 2023
During 2023, there were 15 public job postings for this occupation, with the following distribution:
| Avalon: 33% | Western: 27% |
| Eastern: 0% | Labrador: 0% |
| Central: 0% | NL-unspecified: 40% |
Source: Lightcast (note: data used in this analysis reflects new unique monthly postings which are totaled for the calendar year).
Who works as aquaculture and marine harvest labourers in Newfoundland and Labrador?
During the reference week of May 2021, there were approximately 285 people working in this occupation in Newfoundland and Labrador. 95% of those employed were Male+ and 4% of those employed were Female+.
Here is the age group breakdown for this group of workers:
| 15 to 24 | 25 to 54 | 55 to 64 | 65+ |
| 7% | 39% | 42% | 12% |
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada.
How much do aquaculture and marine harvest labourers make?
Annual Earnings
The median employment income for all aquaculture and marine harvest labourers in the reference year 2020 (420 workers in total, including those working part-time and full-time, as well as part-year and full-year) was $19,600.
Source: Census 2021, Statistics Canada.
Hourly Earnings
Salary information for aquaculture and marine harvest labourers in Newfoundland and Labrador is as follows:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) | |
| Newfoundland and Labrador | $15.00 | $20.00 | $31.25 |
The following low, median, and high wages are for Canada:
| Low ($/hour) | Median ($/hour) | High ($/hour) |
| $15.37 | $20.19 | $34.62 |
Source: Job Bank, Government of Canada
Most Frequently Sought Skills from Job Postings (2023)
- Aquaculture
- Biology
- Data Collection
- Fish Hatcheries
- Fish Culture
- Environmental Studies
- Operations Security
- Stocks (Inventory)
- Statistical Analysis
- Apache Flume
Source: Lightcast
What training is required?
- Some secondary school education is usually required.
- Shellfish harvesters require commercial fishing licenses.
- Marine Emergency Duties certificate may be required for some occupations in this unit group.
Source: National Occupational Classification (NOC) 2021, Employment and Social Development Canada
- Find public and private education, training and skills development opportunities in Newfoundland and Labrador here.