This unit of competency describes the skills and knowledge required to maintain aquaculture farm structures and related infrastructure and equipment used for culturing and holding stock.

The unit applies to individuals who undertake minor repairs and maintenance in an aquaculture setting under the direction of a supervisor.

All work must be carried out to comply with workplace procedures, according to state/territory health and safety, food safety, biosecurity and environmental regulations, legislation and standards that apply to the workplace.

No licensing, legislative or certification requirements apply to this unit at the time of publication.

An individual demonstrating competency must satisfy all of the elements and performance criteria in this unit.

There must be evidence that the individual has completed at least three different basic routine maintenance and repair tasks to either culture, holding or other farm structures on one or more occasions, including:

communicating and reporting to supervisor on required maintenance and repair activities

preparing and safely using the appropriate technology, tools or equipment for the required tasks, including hand and power tools and personal protective equipment

completing relevant workplace records on maintenance and repair activities

maintaining work area and tools and equipment after maintenance and repair tasks.

An individual must be able to demonstrate the knowledge required to perform the tasks outlined in the elements and performance criteria of this unit. This includes knowledge of:

techniques to repair or maintain structures

operation of tools and equipment required for maintenance and repair

types of materials required for maintenance and repair of stock culture, holding and farm structures

role of personal protective equipment and safe work practices relevant to maintenance and repair activities of stock culture, holding and farm structures.

Assessment of the skills in this unit of competency must take place under the following conditions:

physical conditions:

skills must be demonstrated in an aquaculture workplace setting or an environment that accurately represents workplace conditions

resources, equipment and materials:

personal protective clothing and equipment appropriate for tasks

tools, equipment and repair materials relevant to tasks

stock culture or holding structures, farm structures and areas of property in need of maintenance

data or recording sheets

specifications:

specific instructions and workplace procedures for repairs and maintenance, including advice on health and safety requirements

relationships:

evidence of interactions with supervisor.

Assessors of this unit must satisfy the requirements for assessors in applicable vocational education and training legislation, frameworks and/or standards.

This section describes those language, literacy, numeracy and employment skills that are essential for performance in this unit of competency but are not explicit in the performance criteria.

Aquaculture (AQU)