On October 17, 2024, the final exam for the fishery apprenticeship took place at the Federal Office for Water Management, Institute for Aquatic Ecology and Fisheries Management. According to the 1991 Agricultural and Forestry Vocational Training Act, the examination commission gathered to assess the qualifications of nine candidates.
The fishery industry is one of 16 fields in agriculture and forestry that offers vocational training – and certainly one of the most demanding. This is due to the diversity within the Austrian fishery industry, despite its small-scale structure. Whether it’s lake fishers who sustainably harvest fish using nets, pond farmers who cultivate their underwater world for years while enhancing the biodiversity of an entire region, trout farmers raising their salmonids from eggs to market size in cold, oxygen-rich water, or indoor aquaculture operators who continuously optimize water conditions for different species – all these different operations are unified under a common, challenging, and dynamic training program.
The examination commission, composed of representatives from various areas of the fishery sector and the responsible apprenticeship and vocational training office in Upper Austria, tested the candidates' theoretical knowledge and practical skills, which they had gained during their training at the Federal Office and in their workplaces.
After the exam, the newly certified specialists celebrated their success with the examination commission, which included Daniela Achleitner (chair and institute director), Helga Bültermann-Igler (trout farming), Helfried Reimoser (carp farming), Eva Keferböck (indoor aquaculture), Nikolaus Höplinger (lake fishery), Franz Grubinger (employer representative), Alexander Vogl (processing), Florian Keil (course management), and Johannes Brandstetter (apprenticeship and vocational training office Upper Austria). The completion of their training was celebrated with sparkling wine and fish.
Through their work, whether in natural ecosystems or in aquaculture, they will serve as ambassadors for the fishery industry and help strengthen Austria's self-sufficiency.