New intake of students at sea sites
We are delighted to welcome five students from The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University to work on our sea sites off the south coast of the island of Newfoundland this summer.
We extend a big Mowi welcome to Morgan Anthony, Janice Costello, Marius Jullien, Nicole Tiller and Etana Michelin who are already hard at work at our farms.
We caught up with a few of them to find out how it is going.
Morgan Anthony
Morgan has completed an Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Aquaculture, a one-year course following her graduation with a BSc with a biology major from the University of New Brunswick. She is enjoying her time at Mowi: “I have had a great time so far! It has been really cool to witness and take part in practices I learned during my aquaculture course at a real farm site. I have also learned lots about how a sea site operates which I’ve found very interesting and fun! I hope to gain some real experience in an aquaculture operation and a chance to apply what I learned in school.”
Nicole Tiller
Nicole is in her third year, studying for a Diploma in Marine Environmental Technology and will graduate following this work placement with us. She is working as a Saltwater Aquaculture Technician which mainly includes feeding the fish, pen maintenance such as checking and securing moorings, and keeping the pens clear of debris. She has also participated in lice counts, beach clean-ups and mortality classifications.
Speaking about her work experience so far, Nicole says: “My experience at Mowi this summer has been amazing. I am learning a lot of hands-on skills that cannot be taught in a classroom setting. In addition to the beautiful surroundings, the people at Mowi are fantastic! From my initial conversations with HR to the crew I am working with every day, everyone has been helpful, informative and professional.
“The work is exciting, and you have to be able to adapt to ever-changing conditions which keeps the day-to-day interesting and challenging. Since our job mainly consists of hand-feeding fish the work can be physically challenging from time to time, but at the end of the day you really feel like you accomplished something great! There’s nothing more satisfying out here than knowing the fish you are responsible for feeding are well fed and happy.”
For Nicole, this work placement has given her a good insight into aquaculture so that she can now consider this as a career prospect: “When I started the programme the only thing I knew for sure was that I wanted to work outdoors and close to the water and at about the halfway point I started to look into aquaculture. You can’t get more outdoors and close to the water than standing on the side of a salmon pen, breathing in the fresh air and watching all of the marine life around you!”
The partnership between Mowi and The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of Newfoundland is an important one as it provides vital training that can provide us with newly trained site workers, and also can provide educational upgrading for current staff.
Etana Michelin
Etana studies Marine Environmental Technology at the Marine Institute and will be returning as a second-year student this September. She is currently working as a site technician with us, performing general fish husbandry and hand-feeding salmon.
Speaking about her experience, Etana told Insite: “My experience so far has been very interesting. I’ve learned a great deal about the aquaculture industry, and how much work goes into salmon farming. During my placement, I hope to bring the skills and knowledge I learned during my first year of the course into this role, and then carry the skills I’ve learnt on the job into my future studies as well. My placement has been very beneficial so far, and the experiences and knowledge I am gaining has been worth every minute of it.”
Insite spoke to Thomas Brown, Director of the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, School of Fisheries, Marine Institute, to find out more about the partnership:
“The Fisheries and Marine Institute of Memorial University of NL (MI) and Mowi have partnered for over 10 years on the placement of MI Aquaculture work experience students on the east and west coasts of Canada. Work placements provide necessary experience and skills development for students to prepare them to enter the workforce and can also provide opportunities for future employment with the industry partner.
“Mowi is currently supporting five students from the Advanced Diploma in Sustainable Aquaculture programme on work placements in Newfoundland and I would like to thank Mowi for its willingness to support these students. I hope that the experience is beneficial for both the students and Mowi. The Aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Canada is growing and providing potential employers such as Mowi with highly skilled workers is therefore critical. We hope to continue this relationship with Mowi into the foreseeable future.”