Unit of Competency Mapping – Information for Teachers/Assessors – Information for Learners

SFIAQUA311B Mapping and Delivery Guide
Oversee production and maintain algal or live-feed cultures

Version 1.0
Issue Date: April 2024


Qualification -
Unit of Competency SFIAQUA311B - Oversee production and maintain algal or live-feed cultures
Description This unit of competency involves producing algal or live-feed cultures to be fed to cultured or held stock. The unit includes planning for production, initiating and growing cultures and organising their harvest. In some facilities only one of the culture types is produced, in others both may be produced. Skills to coordinate staff are covered by RTE3704A Coordinate worksite activities.No licensing, legislative, regulatory or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.
Employability Skills This unit contains employability skills.
Learning Outcomes and Application All enterprise or workplace procedures and activities are carried out according to relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements, including occupational health and safety (OHS) guidelines and ecologically sustainable development (ESD) principles. Equipment operation, maintenance, repairs and calibrations are undertaken in a safe manner that conforms to manufacturer instructions. Appropriate personal protective equipment (PPE) is selected, checked, used and maintained.
Duration and Setting X weeks, nominally xx hours, delivered in a classroom/online/blended learning setting.
Prerequisites/co-requisites
Competency Field
Development and validation strategy and guide for assessors and learners Student Learning Resources Handouts
Activities 		Slides
PPT 		Assessment 1 Assessment 2 Assessment 3 Assessment 4
Elements of Competency Performance Criteria              
Element: Plan for production
  • Production schedule is interpreted and confirmed with senior personnel.
  • Labour and resource requirements for production are confirmed.
  • Risk factors that could affect the quality of algal or live-feed cultures during production are identified and plans made to minimise risk.
  • Efficient culture systems are assembled and commissioned for use.
  • Operational guidelines to achieve desired production objectives are planned and communicated effectively to staff.
       
Element: Prepare for initiation and maintenance of algal or live-feed cultures
  • Production vessels or structures and other equipment are checked for serviceability.
  • Culture water is treated to meet the physio-chemical requirements of the cultured organism.
  • Inoculation cultures to meet the required stocking density are readied for use.
  • Nutriment formulae or media are prepared.
       
Element: Monitor and maintain culture production
  • Physio-chemical requirements of the culture organism are measured and maintained for the culture period.
  • Sterile conditions and equipment are maintained in parent and stock cultures.
  • Culture health is checked regularly by sampling the culture water and appropriate action taken to achieve the production schedule.
       
Element: Harvest culture
  • Harvesting equipment is collected and checked for serviceability.
  • Sub-standard equipment is repaired or replaced.
  • Required quantity of culture is collected in harvest equipment.
  • Production vessel is refilled with preconditioned water and nutriments are added to return the culture to pre-harvest conditions.
  • Unused cultures and wastes are treated and disposed of.
       
Element: Complete culture production activities
  • Clean up of work area, including repairs and storage of equipment, is supervised and condition report prepared.
  • Relevant culture production data, observations or information are recorded legibly and accurately, and any out of range or unusual records checked.
  • Compliance and other required reports are prepared and conveyed to senior personnel advising of the effectiveness of culture production, and recommendations made for improvements.
  • Options for improving efficiency through mechanisation or automation of process or activity, and use of specialised contract staff are researched and presented to senior personnel as potential improvements.
  • Staff are given feedback on their work performance.
       


Evidence Required

List the assessment methods to be used and the context and resources required for assessment. Copy and paste the relevant sections from the evidence guide below and then re-write these in plain English.

The evidence guide provides advice on assessment and must be read in conjunction with the performance criteria, required skills and knowledge, range statement and the Assessment Guidelines for the Training Package.

Overview of assessment

Critical aspects for assessment evidence required to demonstrate competence in this unit

Assessment must confirm the ability to:

monitor all aspects of the production process

prepare nutriment formulae or media

coordinate staff to achieve the efficient and successful production of algal or live-feed cultures

treat culture water.

Assessment must confirm knowledge of:

operation process for effective production of algal or live-feed cultures, including setting up, initiating and breeding, monitoring health and growth, harvesting and cleaning up.

Context of and specific resources for assessment

Assessment is to be conducted at the workplace or in a simulated work environment. The inoculation cultures used should reflect those typically grown by aquaculture enterprises in the region.

Resources may include:

inoculum culture

monitoring equipment

nutriment formulae or media

production and harvest equipment

production vessels and water treatments

staff to coordinate

water sampling tests.

Method of assessment

The following assessment methods are suggested:

case study analysis

practical exercises

project (work or scenario based)

written or oral short-answer testing.

Guidance information for assessment

This unit may be assessed holistically with RTE3704A Coordinate worksite activities, and other units within a qualification.

Submission Requirements

List each assessment task's title, type (eg project, observation/demonstration, essay, assignment, checklist) and due date here

Assessment task 1: [title]      Due date:

(add new lines for each of the assessment tasks)

Assessment Tasks

Copy and paste from the following data to produce each assessment task. Write these in plain English and spell out how, when and where the task is to be carried out, under what conditions, and what resources are needed. Include guidelines about how well the candidate has to perform a task for it to be judged satisfactory.

Required skills

altering the physio-chemical environment and nutriment formulae or media to meet the culture species requirements throughout the culture period

communicating with senior personnel on production schedule, labour and resource requirements

communicating operational guidelines to staff

coordinating algal or live-feed production and staff

identifying potential improvements

providing feedback to staff on performance

reporting orally and in writing on production of algae or live-feeds to senior personnel

recognising signs of health or ill health in species and mitigation methods

researching options for improvement.

Literacy skills used for:

interpreting the production schedule

recording information relating to algal or live-feed production and harvest

researching mechanisation or automation options

writing reports for senior personnel on the algal or live-feed production process.

Numeracy skills used for:

calculating inoculation culture to achieve desired stocking density

calculating the culture period for the species

calculating volumes

completing production records.

Required knowledge

inoculation culture required to achieve stocking density

nutriment formulae or media requirements for species during culture period

operation process for effective production of algal or live-feed cultures, including setting up, initiating and breeding, monitoring health and growth, harvesting and cleaning up

options for mechanisation or automation of process or activity

physio-chemical requirements for the culture species

services provided by specialised contract services.

The range statement relates to the unit of competency as a whole. It allows for different work environments and situations that may affect performance. Bold italicised wording, if used in the performance criteria, is detailed below. Essential operating conditions that may be present with training and assessment (depending on the work situation, needs of the candidate, accessibility of the item, and local industry and regional contexts) may also be included.

Cultured or held stock may include:

adults, broodstock (ready to breed), seedstock or stockers, eggs and sperm, fertilised eggs, larvae, post-larvae, seed, spat, hatchlings, yearlings, juveniles, fry, fingerlings, yearlings, smolt, sporophytes, seedlings and tissue cultures

finfish, crustaceans, molluscs, aquatic reptiles, amphibians, polychaete and oligochaete worms, plankton, micro-algae, seaweed, aquatic plants, live rock, sponges and other aquatic invertebrates

for human consumption (seafood), stockers for other farms, stockers for conservation or recreational fishing, display or companion animals (ornamentals), and other products, including pearls, skins, shells, eggs, chemicals and pigments

wild caught or hatchery or nursery reared.

Relevant government regulations, licensing and other compliance requirements may include:

biodiversity and genetically modified organisms

biosecurity, translocation and quarantine

business or workplace operations, policies and practices

environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control

OHS hazard identification, risk assessment and control.

OHS guidelines may include:

appropriate workplace provision of first aid kits and fire extinguishers

clean, uncluttered, hygienic workplace

codes of practice, regulations and/or guidance notes which may apply in a jurisdiction or industry sector

enterprise-specific OHS procedures, policies or standards

hazard and risk assessment of workplace, maintenance activities and control measures

induction or training of staff, contractors and visitors in relevant OHS procedures and/or requirements to allow them to carry out their duties in a safe manner

OHS training register

safe lifting, carrying and handling techniques, including manual handling, and the handling and storage of hazardous substances

safe systems and procedures for outdoor work, including protection from solar radiation, fall protection, confined space entry and the protection of people in the workplace

systems and procedures for the safe maintenance of property, machinery and equipment, including hydraulics and exposed moving parts

the appropriate use, maintenance and storage of PPE.

ESD principles may include:

control of effluents, chemical residues, contaminants, wastes and pollution

improving energy efficiency

increasing use of renewable, recyclable and recoverable resources

minimising noise, dust, light or odour emissions

preventing live cultured or held organisms from escaping into environment

reducing energy use

reducing emissions of greenhouse gases

reducing use of non-renewable resources

undertaking environmental hazard identification, risk assessment and control

undertaking facility quarantine, biosecurity and translocation of livestock and genetic material

using and recycling water, and maintaining water quality.

PPE may include:

hard hat or protective head covering

non-slip and waterproof boots (gumboots) or other safety footwear

protective eyewear, glasses and face mask

uniforms, overalls or protective clothing (e.g. mesh and waterproof aprons).

Production schedule may include:

production vessel or structure to use

production method:

batch

continuous

other

semi-continuous

quality, including bacteria-free, growth rate, size and age

quantities (e.g. cells/ml, organisms/ml)

types of cultures, including species.

Risk factors may include:

contamination

damage to equipment

equipment breakdown

insufficient cultures

loss of cultures

power loss.

Production vessels or structures may include:

concrete or earthen ponds

fibreglass or plastic tanks or tubes

glassware

plastic bags

plastic-lined pools.

Other equipment may include:

aeration, carbon dioxide addition

lights

production vessel holder

temperature-controlled room.

Treated water may include:

aeration

chemical (e.g. change pH, hardness and salinity)

heating or cooling

micro-filtration

ozone

pre-conditioning (left to stand with aeration).

Inoculation cultures may include:

brine shrimp (Artemia and Parartemia)

copepods

Daphnia

mosquitoes, beetles or other insects

nematodes

polychaetes or other annelids (worms)

rotifers

various species of micro-algae

zooplankton.

Nutriment formulae or media may include:

batch or continuous dosing

feeds, including micro-algae, pellets, powders and emulsions

nutrients, fertilisers or other enrichment chemicals or formulae.

Physio-chemical requirements of the culture organism may include:

carbon dioxide

dissolved oxygen

hardness

light

mechanical or biological filtration

nutriment formulae or media

pH

salinity

temperature

water flow.

Culture health may include:

contaminants, including ciliates, males in rotifer cultures and unwanted species in micro-algal cultures

density of organisms (numbers per litre or millilitre)

feeding activity

growth and appearance

swimming activity.

Harvesting equipment may include:

buckets

nets, sieves or screens (mesh size generally below 100µm)

pumps

scoops

siphons.

Wastes may include:

dead or dying organisms

other contaminants, including soil and organic debris

uneaten nutriments.

Copy and paste from the following performance criteria to create an observation checklist for each task. When you have finished writing your assessment tool every one of these must have been addressed, preferably several times in a variety of contexts. To ensure this occurs download the assessment matrix for the unit; enter each assessment task as a column header and place check marks against each performance criteria that task addresses.

Observation Checklist

Tasks to be observed according to workplace/college/TAFE policy and procedures, relevant legislation and Codes of Practice Yes No Comments/feedback
Production schedule is interpreted and confirmed with senior personnel. 
Labour and resource requirements for production are confirmed. 
Risk factors that could affect the quality of algal or live-feed cultures during production are identified and plans made to minimise risk. 
Efficient culture systems are assembled and commissioned for use. 
Operational guidelines to achieve desired production objectives are planned and communicated effectively to staff. 
Production vessels or structures and other equipment are checked for serviceability. 
Culture water is treated to meet the physio-chemical requirements of the cultured organism. 
Inoculation cultures to meet the required stocking density are readied for use. 
Nutriment formulae or media are prepared. 
Physio-chemical requirements of the culture organism are measured and maintained for the culture period. 
Sterile conditions and equipment are maintained in parent and stock cultures. 
Culture health is checked regularly by sampling the culture water and appropriate action taken to achieve the production schedule. 
Harvesting equipment is collected and checked for serviceability. 
Sub-standard equipment is repaired or replaced. 
Required quantity of culture is collected in harvest equipment. 
Production vessel is refilled with preconditioned water and nutriments are added to return the culture to pre-harvest conditions. 
Unused cultures and wastes are treated and disposed of. 
Clean up of work area, including repairs and storage of equipment, is supervised and condition report prepared. 
Relevant culture production data, observations or information are recorded legibly and accurately, and any out of range or unusual records checked. 
Compliance and other required reports are prepared and conveyed to senior personnel advising of the effectiveness of culture production, and recommendations made for improvements. 
Options for improving efficiency through mechanisation or automation of process or activity, and use of specialised contract staff are researched and presented to senior personnel as potential improvements. 
Staff are given feedback on their work performance. 

Forms

Assessment Cover Sheet

SFIAQUA311B - Oversee production and maintain algal or live-feed cultures
Assessment task 1: [title]

Student name:

Student ID:

I declare that the assessment tasks submitted for this unit are my own work.

Student signature:

Result: Competent Not yet competent

Feedback to student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Assessment Record Sheet

SFIAQUA311B - Oversee production and maintain algal or live-feed cultures

Student name:

Student ID:

Assessment task 1: [title] Result: Competent Not yet competent

(add lines for each task)

Feedback to student:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Overall assessment result: Competent Not yet competent

Assessor name:

Signature:

Date:

Student signature:

Date: