• What is aquaculture?
• Why study aquaculture at NMIT?
• What is the cost of studying at NMIT?
• Where will studying aquaculture at NMIT take me?

What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is the farming of aquatic organisms including fish, molluscs, crustaceans and aquatic plants and involves the design, construction and operation of freshwater and marine systems for breeding, hatching, growing, processing and packaging for marketing.

Aquaculture has grown substantially in Australia with the trend likely to continue as wild fisheries are further depleted. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics aquaculture grew in the decade to 2000-01 by 145 per cent, and accounted for 30 per cent, $746 million, of total fisheries production. Aquaculture employs more than 7,000 people and it is expected to increase to 29,000 by 2010.

The United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organisation predicting that by 2030 aquaculture will dominate fish supplies and less than half of the fish consumed will come from the capture of wild fish.

The Australian aquaculture industry is based around producing a high-value and high-quality product for local and international markets. Approximately 60 different species of marine life were farmed in Australia in 2001.

Why study Aquaculture at NMIT?

NMIT has supplied education and training to the aquaculture industry since 1997. In that time the aquaculture industry around Australia , and the world, has grown and NMIT's commitment to the industry has grown with it. That long term commitment to quality training led to NMIT developing an aquaculture course that achieves the equivalent standard to university.

NMIT has established the Aquaculture Training and Applied Research Centre, a research and commercial facility designed to industry standards. The centre provides specialist equipment, to maintain both fresh and salt-water marine stocks.

Student learn every aspect of the aquaculture industry including freezing, processing and packaging of product through the NMIT Primary Industries Production Training Centre.

Take a look at some of the facilities in the Aquaculture gallery.

What is the cost of studying at NMIT?

Students can enrol in NMIT's bachelor courses for three year's full time, or have the option of enrolling part time.

The degree programs are fee for service and costs AU$12,000 each year, however all courses have the option of FEE-HELP for eligible students. No amenities fees are charged for any higher education courses.

The tuition fees are calculated based on full-time study. Part-time fees per year depend on subjects chosen (part-time study is only available to domestic students).

Where will studying aquaculture at NMIT take me?

Graduates of applied aquaculture at NMIT are prepared for management roles in the industry and/or policy advisor to the industry and government.

This multi-disciplinary course combines biology, aquatic animal culture, aquaculture engineering, business management and applied research. The course places and emphasis on integrating theory and practice, learning in commercial-scale aquaculture facilities, multi-disciplinary study and applied research.