Aquaculture and Fishery Management

Why choose this degree?
- One course that will develop you from introductory level in year 1 through to independent research and application in year 3

- Gain a wide range of practical experience and knowledge in subjects such as fish anatomy and physiology, business and environmental management and aquaculture

- Take part in work placements in places such as Fiji, South Africa or closer to home in Scotland

- Be taught by leading industry experts in unrivalled on-site facilities, including the 650m² purpose-built Aquatic Research and Conservation Centre (ARCC), the Salmonid Rearing and Trials Centre and our own mixed coarse fishery lake.

What makes UCS special?
University Centre Sparsholt is recognised worldwide for its expertise in providing education in fishery, aquaculture and marine studies. Our lecturing staff are known to be the experts in the industry and can often be found at conferences and industry forums discussing the latest techniques and their supporting research.

Students gain real industry experience on and off-site that is underpinned by the high level of technical lecture content to prepare them for a range of careers or progression to courses at Master’s level. Our industry contacts enable great employment prospects. Typically over 50% of our 3rd year students return from work placements to sit their final exams with jobs already secured for graduation.

What will I learn?
The programme combines scientific, managerial and practical skills that are developed in a range of subjects such as water quality, fish anatomy and physiology, fishery management and ecology, aquaculture, fish health and nutrition, business and environmental management.

During the course there are also extensive periods of work experience. Recent placements have included carp fisheries in Spain and France, salmon farms in Tasmania and New Zealand, goldfish farms in the United States, Royal aquariums in the Middle East, research into ornamental fish welfare in the Philippines, Coral Cay Conservation in Fiji and research for the Natal Shark Board in South Africa.

Closer to home, University Centre Sparsholt has excellent links with potential placement destinations including public aquariums, coarse and game fisheries, government fishery laboratories and numerous fish farms.

As part of the course UCS students undertake innovative and exciting research. Recent examples include:

- Testing different feed rates for maximum growth in carp

- Trialling a novel method of controlling the fish louse (Argulus) in a fishery

- Testing the effect of magnetic water on fish growth and pigmentation

- Assessing shell production in marine prawns

- Testing novel feed ingredients (fly larvae in carp diets)

- Assessing levels of plastic pollution in the sediments of the river Kennet

- Use of novel sustainable replacements for fish meal in fish diets

- Testing novel water treatment methods in aquaria

- Assessing the relative pollution effect of different baits in a fishery

How will I be assessed?
Assessment at level four and five is primarily by exams and coursework which includes practical portfolios, laboratory reports, case studies and essay style assignments. At level six there is a greater emphasis on group projects and independent research.

Where can I go from here?
You can move onto a MSc or PhD programme. Sparsholt graduates now work as aquatic and fishery management consultants, in specialist angling publications, tackle and bait manufacturers, public aquaria, fisheries enforcement and product development, as lab and research technicians, in education and teaching and as fish farmers and fishery managers.