2025 Aquaculture Job Fair Recap: Exploring Careers in American Aquaculture
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the 2025 Aquaculture Virtual Job Fair, hosted by the Aquaculture Information Exchange and National Aquaculture Association! The event last Wednesday brought together over 200 participants from across the United States and around the world for an afternoon of real-time connection, practical career advice, and honest conversations about what it takes to break into the American aquaculture industry today.
Participants came from across the U.S., with representation from at least 14 states and territories including California, Florida, Virginia, New York, Maine, Louisiana, and Puerto Rico, as well as from overseas in countries like India, Norway, and the Czech Republic, underscoring the global reach and relevance of American aquaculture careers.
Excitement Builds Before the Job Fair
In the weeks leading up to the fair, job-seekers and employers started connecting in the AIE job fair group. In total, there were 37 posts, 22 comments, and 218 reactions in the group before the event, where employers made introductions, aquaculture professionals shared resources, and job-seekers shared resumes and asked preliminary questions.
AIE groups make event operations simple, giving attendees a space to network, share documents, and post photos all within the ecosystem of the American aquaculture community. If you’d like to learn how to set up an AIE group for your aquaculture event, check out our blog post on this feature.
The Day of the Job Fair
The July 23 job fair opened with introductions by National Aquaculture Association executive director Caitlyn Czajkowski and AIE manager Joe Caterine, followed by presentations from employers in the field of research and education, featuring:
- Lisa White, Maine Department of Marine Resources – @lisacwhite
- Charles McGuigan, Cultimar Technologies – @cjmcguigan92
- Paul Begue, AgriAquaculture Center of Excellence – @paulbegue
- Adeline Lange, FSU Coastal and Marine Lab – @alange
The next panel featured farmers and industry employers:
- Nicolette Mariano, Treasure Coast Shellfish – @nicolettemariano
- Lexy McCarty, Cherrystone Aqua-Farms – @Lexy
- Donna Lanzetta, Manna Fish Farms – @Lanzetta
- Jamie Anderson, Anderson Minnows – @jamieanderson
In a series of lightning talks, these employers shared the history of their organizations, the positions they were currently hiring for, and what they look for in quality job candidates. In the Q&A sessions, job-seekers asked about everything from visa sponsorship and remote work to how to transition from a PhD program into the private sector. Employers responded in real time, sharing job links, email addresses, and encouragement.
In a break in between panels, attendees were asked what got them hooked on aquaculture. Here are some of their responses:
“I saw how fragile our food systems were during COVID and decided I didn’t want to see the world starve in the future”
“When I was 14 I volunteered cleaning up a shellfish hatchery after 1 of the 2004 hurricanes and then started researching what aquaculture was”
“I am a PhD candidate that was invested in animal agriculture, particularly poultry, but got involved in aquaculture through my dissertation work in investigating amino acid nutrition strategies for hybrid striped bass.”
“I LOVE AQUACULTURE”
“I love aquaculture because it allows me to combine hands-on work with science to solve real-world challenges in sustainable food production. It’s incredibly rewarding to contribute to improving animal health, nutrition, and system efficiency while supporting global food security.”
“I want to see the industry grow on the west coast and incorporate more IMTA [Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture] style operations or have a restoration aspect”
“I am interested in aquaculture because it can benefit from the interdisciplinary research (ex. microbiology, marine science, data science) that I plan to involve myself in during my undergrad.”
New Possibilities After the Job Fair
The 2025 Aquaculture Job Fair continued to create buzz even after it was over.
“The virtual job fair went very well in my opinion,” said Paul Begue from the AgriAquaculture Center of Excellence in Louisiana in an interview with Aquaculture North America. “The job fair brought a variety of candidates and put them in contact with an equally diverse group of employers.”
In our post-event survey, 95% of attendees said they were satisfied or very satisfied with the fair, and nearly all said they would attend another job fair in the future. Here’s what some respondents had to say:
“The variety of positions showcased was great.”
“The real-time employer interaction, updated global job listings, and panel insights into aquaculture hiring trends were excellent.”
“giving employers the opportunity to get together with other like-minded industry professionals is great”
“[I appreciated] learning about the different aquaculture-related roles that were available, and the different institutions between industry and academia.”
“[I liked] seeing all the excitement about aquaculture from all around the world.”
“[I appreciated the] employers willing to provide Job training and sponsor visas”
We’re grateful to everyone who made this job fair possible, especially Imani Black of Minorities in Aquaculture for co-developing the original idea, to our co-hosts at the National Aquaculture Association, and to Maya Pelletier from Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center and Annie Fagan from Maine Sea Grant for helping shape the format. And of course, thank you to all the employers and job seekers who helped make this event a success. We’re excited to keep building on this momentum and supporting the next generation of aquaculture professionals.
We’re open to ideas on what to try next for future job fairs. If you’d like to be involved, get in touch with us at admin@aquainfoexchange.org.
If you’re a job-seeker, you can stay engaged by joining the Career Support group on the AIE and exploring the latest job listings.
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