Do you love oceans and lakes? Are you always in awe of the fishes and marine life? Then considering a career in Fishery Sciences would be the perfect fit for you.
India stands at position 7th in the fish export in the world. The Fishery industry encompasses catching, processing, marketing, and conserving fishes in facilities like rivers, lakes, and other habitats.
Who is a Fishery Officer?
A Fishery officer manages preserves and conserves the state and territory fishery resources while ensuring that they are not endangered or exploited.
Responsibilities
- Regular patrolling and investigating of unlawful fishing activities and illegal removal of protected marine life.
- Promotion of fisheries compliance and conservation and ensure that rules and regulations are followed.
- Undertake surveillance of fishing activities done through air, sea and land.
- Data collection of caught fish and proper working of boats.
- Make sure that the commercial fishing businesses have proper documentation and limits of commercial catch are enforced.
- Provide outdoor field services to fisheries, hunters or eco-tourists.
- Ensure that the caught fish are sold under legal markets and proper size fish are sold in fish markets.
- Respond to emergencies by assisting other agencies.
Required Education and Eligibility
- Interested candidates have to complete their 12th in Biology stream from a recognized board.
- Pass the entrance exam conducted by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) for getting admission into fishery science courses offered by several institutes.
- Complete any one of the following bachelor courses of fishery sciences.
- Bachelor of Fisheries Science (BFS) of 4 years duration.
- Sc Industrial Fish and Fisheries (3 years).
- Sc Fisheries (3 years).
- Sc Aquaculture (3 years).
- Complete any one of the following 2 years masters courses,
- Masters of Fisheries Science course
- Sc in Aquatic Biology
- Fishery Science and Aquaculture
- Industries Fisheries/ Limnology and
- Fisheries/ Marine Biology and
- Fisheries
Top Colleges in India offering Fishery science courses
- Govind Ballabh Pant University of Agriculture and Technology, Patnagar.
- Annamalai University, Chidambaram.
- Bisra Agricultural University (BAU) in Ranchi.
- Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University, Samastipur.
- Junagadh Agricultural University, Junagadh.
- Mahatma Jyothi Rao Phoole University (MJRPU) in Jaipur.
Skills required
Fishery Officers need to possess the following skills like:
- Awareness of marine environment and its environmental issues.
- Understanding of various laws and regulations for catching fish and shellfish.
- Excellent data collection and analyzing and report-writing skills.
- Knowledge of Fisheries Settlement Act and Waitangi treaty.
- Interest in fishing and love for fishes.
- Boat-handling experience for marine-related work.
Job Roles for a Fishery Officer
The following are some of the job profiles of a Fishery Officer. These professionals can take up any of the following job roles.
- Fishery Extension Officer.
- Boating and Fisheries Patrol officer.
- Fisheries Observer.
- Fishery Officer.
- Fishery Manager.
- Fishery Technician.
- Fishery Biologist.
- Fishery Development Officer (FDO) and FDO on district level.
Employment Areas
Candidates with a fisheries sciences degrees can find jobs both in the private and government sectors. Some of the diverse fields associated with fisheries sciences are:
- Fish Breeding Farms
- Food Processing and Technology
- Food Department
- Fisheries Development Board
- Environmental Agencies
- Own Fishery Business (Import and Export of fishes)
Top recruiting organizations for Fishery Officer
Fishery Officers are mostly employed by government organizations and agencies listed below:
- Indian National Centre for Ocean and Information Sciences – Hyderabad
- National Institute of Oceanography
- Fisheries Survey of India.
- Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI).
- Coastal Aquaculture Authority of India.
- Export Inspection Agency.
- Marine Product Export Development Authority.
Salary and Job prospects
In India, fishery officers earn a good salary in the government sector with a high employment rate. The average monthly pay of Fishery officers and related professionals are:
- Fishery officer/ Fishery Extension officer- INR 34,800.
- Fishery Biologist- INR 50,000.
- Fishery Manager- INR 30,000.
- Fishery Technician- INR 25,000.
- Livestock Development Officer- INR 50,000.
Based on a particular state or territory, the Fishery officers are hired by State government departments or Police forces. An entry in this field is highly competitive. The employment opportunities are dependent on government policy and funding.
With good experience and sufficient training, the fishery officers can move into general management and professional science roles.
Career advancement in this field is getting promoted into an advisory or policy development role that can be within the government or private consultancies such as commercial fish retailers working on issues of sustainability. Another option is working as a professor for higher education and research in universities or colleges that offer relevant fishery courses.
– Samiya Firdous
