AQUACULTURE may offer good job prospects, but it is not about dolphins and coral reefs, cautions Brian Ottway, lecturer in Galway RTC. "Aquaculture is another form of farming. You just get colder and wetter," he adds.
Ottway is worried about students with what he describes as the "Jacques Cousteau syndrome" signing up for aquaculture courses. Aquaculture is not marine science, Ottway emphasises.
Galway RTC offers a two-year certificate in aquaculture and a one year add-on diploma. In first year, students study general sciences and a language; in second year, they specialise in aquaculture practice and science, as well as studying water analysis, marine and freshwater ecology, business subjects and computers. They also do engineering workshops and learn how to design and build the pipes and pumps for the farms.
"The aim is to supply technicians who will work on the farms and after a year or so of experience may become site managers," Ottway explains. A lot of emphasis is placed on practical work and there is a work placement.
Galway RTC also has linkages with colleges in five European countries and about one-third of the students go abroad in second year.
There are plenty of jobs for people with certificates, says Ottway. Of the 20 graduates of the certificate course last year, 11 are working and nine have gone on to further study. The main sources of employment are the salmon farms and hatcheries, as shellfish farms are mainly small operations, attracting self-starters.
Galway RTC has links with degree programmes in Britain. For instance Aberdeen has two degrees - marine zoology and fisheries, and aquaculture. Students may also transfer into UCG's marine-science degree. However, Ott way says that there are more jobs at technician level than for those with diplomas and degrees.
Dr Noel Mulligan, head of chemical and life sciences in Tralee RTC, says prospective students of aquaculture should like the outdoors as opposed to the office; they should be interested in reasonably physical work, he adds. Students should also be aware that they will probably be working in remote coastal areas.
"Our emphasis is very much on giving students good practical experience. There is a significant work experience element," he explains.
Mulligan says that is a need for trained people in the industry. "Although there is a lot of straightforward husbandry, there is also a need to know the biological and environmental processes. As margins get tighter, people with a knowledge base will do well."
Letterkenny RTC offers a two-year certificate in aquatic science. First-year students take general science courses and then specialise in second year, studying aquatic ecology, environmental chemistry, instrumentation, aquatic microbiology and the use of computers.
Dr Mary Brennan, lecturer in aquatic science, says the college is hoping to produce technical-type students who will be employed by local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency as well as fisheries and any industry which needs waste fieldwork and lab work. The college has applied to extend the course to a three-year diploma.
UCG is the only university in the Republic offering a denominated undergraduate degree in marine science. The Martin Ryan marine science institute on the main campus is dedicated to marine science and the college also has a number of marine outstations.
Dr John Mercer of UCG's shellfish research lab in Carna, Co Galway, notes that "in the early 1970s, aquaculture contributed virtually nothing to the national economy. There were small efforts such as stocking rainbow trout for fishing. Now, the industry directly employs 3,000 people," he says.
As to the future, Mercer says the industry is creating long-term, sustainable jobs, based on natural resources.
