Elements and Performance Criteria

The range of variables places the competency in context and allows for differences between enterprises and workplaces, including practices, knowledge and requirements. The range of variables also provides a focus for assessment and relates to the unit as a whole. The following variables may be present.

Broodstock activities:
· cleaning or disinfection of culture equipment
· holding
· monitoring or treating health
· quarantine
· staging or assessing maturation, cannulation
· acclimatisation
· maturation
· spawning induction.

Quality requirements:
· spawning condition
· disease history
· physical appearance, colour and appendages
· health and activity status
· size
· previous reproductive performance
· sex
· wild caught or cultured stock
· life cycle stage.

Quantity requirements:
· number
· density
· weight
· volume.

Spawning induction treatment:
· hormonal
· special feed requirements
· environmental
· chemical.

Quality assessment:
· number
· health, disease and/or prophylactic treatment history
· life cycle stage
· density
· colour and shape
· behaviour
· uniformity of stock.

Progeny:
· molluscan larvae, seed, spat or juveniles
· crustacean post-larvae or juveniles
· polyp colonies
· finfish eyed eggs, fingerlings, fry, smolts or juveniles
· reptile eggs, hatchlings or juveniles
· amphibian eggs, larvae or juveniles
· aquatic plants or micro-algal cells, buds, seedlings, sporophytes.

Post-hatch rearing procedures:
· grading or sorting
· counting density
· feeding
· changing water
· weighing and measuring
· maintaining culture environment within accepted parameters
· sampling
· taking visual observations
· transferring to clean or larger culture structure.
· culling of dead or non-viable individuals
· treating by medication or prophylaxis.

Government regulations:
Relevant local, State/Territory and Commonwealth legislation, regulations and orders.

Each unit of competency has an evidence guide that relates directly to the performance criteria and the range of variables. Its purpose is to guide assessment of the unit in the workplace and/or training program. The following components provide information to assist this purpose.

Underpinning knowledge
The essential knowledge and understanding a person needs to perform work to the required standard include:
· clinical signs of ovulation and/or imminent spawning
· cleaning and disinfection procedures and requirements for adequate disinfection
· water quality requirements of breeding stock and progeny:
· dissolved oxygen
· temperature
· hardness
· salinity
· absence/presence of chemicals
· pH
· light
· water flow
· risk factors associated with breeding
· feed and other requirements of breeding stock and progeny
· other environmental factors or cues for reproductive behaviour:
· lunar cycle
· atmospheric pressure.
· preparation for distribution.

Practical skills
The essential skills a person needs to perform work to the required standards include:
· handling and moving broodstock safely
· performing routine health care
· efficiently carrying out care of broodstock, larvae and juveniles
· manipulating culture environment as appropriate
· supervising staff.

Literacy skills used for:
· reading production plans and order requirements
· recording information relating to hatchery operations
· writing reports to management on hatchery operations
· labelling containers for shipment.

Numeracy skills used for:
· counting quantities of stock
· recording and interpreting data relating to water quality.

Critical aspects of competence
Assessment must confirm the ability to:
· collect and care for broodstock, breed and raise the progeny and prepare them for distribution.

Assessment must confirm knowledge of:
· breeding, nutritional, health and environmental requirements of broodstock and progeny.

Interdependent assessment of units
This unit may be assessed after/with:
· No recommendations.

Context of assessment
Assessment is to be conducted at the workplace or in a simulated work environment and should involve stock typically raised on aquaculture farms and hatcheries in the region.

Method of assessment
The following assessment methods are suggested:
· written or oral short-answer testing
· research assignment
· role play
· project work related to on-site scenario or based on a case study, such as the successful spawning of broodstock and rearing of larvae
· submission of records.

Resources required for assessment
Resources may include:
· broodstock or seedstock
· hatchery and equipment for caring for and raising progeny
· monitoring equipment
· on-site scenario or case study
· staff to supervise in a hatchery environment
· research reference material.