Fish Farm Development Mentor

We’re looking for a Fish Farm Development Mentor who can live and volunteer in Kiribati for 6 months.

• This assignment will work with the team to offer support for market development and food security improvements for Kiribati.
• To be considered for this role, you’ll need a degree or diploma in aquaculture, fisheries management, marine biology as well as expertise in Aquaculture & Stock Management with a knowledge of fish pond operations, breeding, feeding, disease prevention, and sustainable practices.
• As a volunteer, the you will help to train local staff and communities in sustainable practices, monitoring, and record-keeping to strengthen long-term operations. 
• Work to capacity build the team in a range of management practices and help to optimize current resources. 

About the Partner Organisation 

The Ministry of Line and Phoenix Islands Development (MLPID) is based on Kiritimati Island. The MLPID focuses on regional planning, infrastructure, and resource management, ensuring that remote islands are integrated into national development strategies.  The aim of the specific livestock and fish farm initiative is to strengthen economic development by enhancing community well-being, improving livelihoods, generating income, and creating employment opportunities. These activities are designed to be inclusive, engaging a wide range of stakeholders including local communities, people with special needs, non-governmental organisations, church groups, youth groups, and women’s groups.

Currently, the fish farm has a sufficient number of ponds, but they are not being utilized to their full capacity. As well as this, livestock production is not established at a level that meets the local demand for food security and marketing. The Ministry’s wishing to maximize these resources so that both livestock and fish can be supplied locally.

A volunteer can support the organisation by providing technical expertise in aquaculture management, and if possible also a level of livestock management, utilizing modern farming techniques, disease control, and feed optimization methods for both.  They could also offer advice on maximizing the use of existing fish ponds to meet food security needs, utilising existing fish farm ponds and other initiatives to provide a foundation for scaling up production. The volunteer could also support the facilitation of partnerships with NGOs, donors, and technical institutions to bring in additional support and resources.

About the Australian Volunteers Program  

The Australian Volunteers Program is an Australian government-funded initiative. We support partner organisations across the Pacific, Asia, and Africa to achieve locally led change.  

Volunteers are supported throughout their volunteer journey. We actively support and encourage people of all backgrounds and abilities to volunteer and aim to make the program as accessible and inclusive as possible. If you have accessibility requirements, please contact us to discuss how we can support you to volunteer with us - inclusion@australianvolunteers.com. Learn more about our commitment to inclusion.