MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management

Dive into a world of possibilities!Find out about the

careers of previous

MAM-students

and discover many

opportunities in this

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MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management

The MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management exists since 2010 as an

independent MSc programme. It’s predecessor was an inter-specialisation of the

Master Environmental Sciences and the Master Animal Sciences. Most alumni in this

booklet graduated from this inter-specialisation.

Due to the size of the current group of alumni, there are few statistical data. From 10

students that graduated in 2011-2012, we know it took them 5,3 months on average

to find a job. 80% of them had a job on academic level, none of the graduates was

unemployed.

The MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management lets you dive into a world

of possibilities. Seafood is an important internationally traded commodity with

internationally oriented public and private institutions or companies. Trained academics

who know how to operate in a multicultural and interdisciplinary setting, and like to

explore new horizons, certainly will find a challenging and fulfilling job.

As such, the Master MSc Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management is

multidisciplinary. This results in alumni finding jobs in the whole spectrum: in the

profit sector, in research, in national and international policy and governmental

institutions and for NGO’s.

MARIEKE REUVER | 2004

AQUATT (DUBLIN, IRELAND), PROGRAMME MANAGER

AquaTT is a knowledge management organisation which focuses on big European

research projects which are contributing to resolving social issues. In these projects,

scientists are responsible for generating the knowledge and we make sure that this

knowledge will reach the right places in the right way. We translate and transfer sci-

entific results to politics by making policy briefs, to industry by organising workshops,

and the general public by making video’s, just to name a few examples.

Formerly we mostly worked on aquaculture projects, during which time my MAM

background was really useful. The past years we expanded our range and now we

also work on marine related subjects and also on projects about health, education

and environment. We are mostly responsible for knowledge management, knowledge

spreading, projects management, communication and event management.

Today I am programme manager and I lead the “Research and Technological Deve-

lopment” team. My job is a combination of human resources, project management,

company management and a lot of travelling. It is very inspiring to work with people

from all over Europe and to strengthen the European knowledge economy.

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JEROEN SCHUPHOF | 2006

TIL-AQUA (SOMEREN, THE NETHERLANDS),

HATCHERY MANAGER & VALLEI VIS, OWNER

At the end of my studies, I did an internship at Fishion Aquaculture. Here, I learned

everything about large scale fish production in recirculation systems, in which hund-

reds of tonnes of fish are cultured each year. This practical experience was very useful

for the innovation project I was involved afterwards. This project, EcoFutura, was

about generating a more sustainable way of food production by integrating greenhou-

ses and aquaculture. The past years I’ve been working for Til-Aqua International, lear-

ning all ins and outs about the reproduction of Tilapia. Working for Til-Aqua, I provide

advice to (starting) Tilapia breeders worldwide and give classes on hatchery manage-

ment to customers of Til-Aqua. Next to my job, I started my own sustainable fish

farm, Vallei vis. Here I can apply every aspect of my study, form fish biology to system

design. I work with fish every day, which barely feels like work but more like a hobby.

LINDE VAN BETS | 2010

WAGENINGEN UR (WAGENINGEN, THE NETHERLANDS),

PHD ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY GROUP

I will be spending the next four years on researching co-management of marine com-

munities and ecosystems in three regions: The North sea, the Arctic and the Carib-

bean. It’s a very challenging job with lots of freedom and flexible working hours. The

fieldwork is also quite interesting, travelling to such diverse places all over the world.

My subject is also quite difficult at times, because you will need to know precisely what

you want to investigate and how to achieve the best results, which requires a great

amount of thinking and planning.

I was attracted by the interdisciplinary and international nature of the Aquaculture

and Marine Resource Management Master and thus it is not a coincidence that these

aspects are important in my work as well.

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BASTIAAN VERMONDEN | 2011

MILIEU (BRUSSELS, BELGIUM), POLICY ADVISER

My official function at consultancy firm “Milieu” is policy adviser, but my main activities

are assisting a project which investigates to what extent different member states of

the European union have executed the first articles of the Marine Strategy Framework

Directive (MSFD).

The fun part of this project is that many aspects of marine management are ad-

dressed. There are the more traditional subjects like fisheries, eutrophication and

toxins, but also subjects which have only gotten our attention recently, like underwater

sounds, pollution by plastics, ecosystem interactions and more. This makes it possible

for me to learn a lot about different subjects.

Besides the more scientific aspects of my work, I’m also busy coordinating experts

which deliver products for this project. In doing this, I’m also getting some experience

about management in a rather safe environment. To get more insight in the manage-

ment of projects of the European Union, I’m also included in meetings with the client,

in this case the European Commision.

Thanks to my MAM background, it is possible for me to guide my colleagues without a

background in marine biology in their work on the MSFD assessment; to communicate

with experts about technical questions; or to attend expert meetings within the EU.

But the thing I like most about my work, are probably my colleagues. There is a very

international atmosphere in my office. I work together with people from France, Serbia

and Lithuania. Almost all of my colleagues have a higher education, some even have

multiple Master degrees. Within Milieu, there are lawyers, economists and experts like

myself which cause interesting discussions about a great range of subjects, which are

luckily not always serious! Besides that, many of them are young, like myself, so we

go grab a drink and a bite every now and then in Brussels, which contributes to the

nice ambience.

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ANNE REIJBROEK | 2011

MINISTRY OF ECONOMIC AFFAIRS (THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS),

POLICY WORKER

After I finished my studies, I worked two months for a political party at the House

of Representatives. My job was to provide advice to the representative and to write

motions and speeches for debates on fisheries. But fisheries policy is, like agriculture,

a European subject because most decisions are made by the European Union. That

is why, during the reformation of the Common European Fisheries Policy, I became a

trainee at the European Parliament.

At the European Parliament I really got to use my background from Wageningen UR:

I was regularly asked to work on technical subjects like commenting on the talks by

the European Commision about bycatch or MSY (maximum sustainable yield). At the

moment I work at the Ministry of Economic Affairs where I, among other things, made

the research agenda for marine biodiversity. Everything comes together right here:

Wageningen, fisheries, marine biodiversity and Europe!

NICK STRINGER | 2012

POLDERVIS BV (ZEVENAAR, THE NETHERLANDS), FISH BREEDER

Together with a starting entrepreneur I work on the professionalization of his fish

farm. My associate has bred several species of fish as his hobby for years, so he had

quite some experience, but only on the level of reproduction. I use my knowledge to

improve and professionalize the current breeding system and to start data collection.

I really like working here as well as the challenge to make this a successful business.

If all goes well, I will be the assistant manager of a hatchery in which I had influence

from beginning to end and learned a massive amount. The consequence is that, until

then, I will have to buy my shoes on sale, but it will be worth it!

MICHIEL FRANSEN | 2010

AQUACULTURE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (UTRECHT, THE NETHERLANDS),

STANDARDS AND CERTIFICATION COORDINATOR

Before you know it, the day of graduation is there. Now what? That was the question

I asked myself in January 2010. After a bachelor and master in Biology and a specia-

lisation in Aquaculture and Fisheries I still had no clear view on what I wanted to do.

In retrospect, no plan can turn out to be a great plan! After graduation, I got to work

at the ministry of LNV (now LEI) through an employment agency. At the time, this was

located in Ede so this was very convenient. Although the work was not very challen-

ging, it was better than doing nothing.

Farmers are able to ask for funds for maintaining of landscape components (flowers

borders, wooded banks, willows etc.). These requests were approved by us. When

this LNV-project came to an end, the whole department was dissolved and I went for

a three week trip on the North Sea with one of the IMARES research vessel together

with a close friend. Three weeks at sea, fish eggs, gulls and lame jokes gave me

enough time to think about my future.

When I got back, a friend of mine told me there was a job opening at Coppens Inter-

national in Helmond. Coppens produces fish feed for fish farms focussing on con-

sumption, ornamental fish and angling. I got lucky and got a job as Export Manager

for some countries in Eastern-Europe, the Balkan and Southeast-Asia. As a biologist,

sales was a total new area for me and, together with a lot of travelling, I got a lot of

experience in those two years working there in both sales and the technical aspects of

fish farming.

In 2012 I started working for the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), an organisa-

tion comparable to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), but with a focus on aqua-

culture rather than fisheries. We develop standards which fish farms have to meet in

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order to obtain ASC certification. With this logo on their products, consumers can easily

choose for these sustainable products in the supermarket. At the moment I’m also

working on a certification standard for fish feed producers to define sustainable feed as

well. Here we don’t only look at sustainable production of ingredients like fish meal and

oil but also for soy, corn, palm etc. A very challenging and versatile job!

Finally I would like to end with the advice not to be passive in finding a job. Contact

companies/organisations actively, even if they don’t have any vacancies. Through these

conversations you can get a better view on different sectors of industry which will or

won’t appeal to you. Don’t expect that the first job will be your best/last one. Everyone

has to start somewhere and versatility is the key! Aquaculture is a worldwide quickly

expanding industry, so try to look beyond Maastricht and Groningen. Good luck!

MANDY DODDEMA | 2005

MARINE STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL (LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM),

ACCESSIBILITY OFFICER

Fisheries are vital for humans worldwide. At the same time they are confronted with

very complex issues regarding sustainability. This is why fisheries interests me so

much. I already learned a great deal about the influence of certification programs and

quality labels on the sustainable management of fisheries during my studies. That’s

why I was thrilled to do my research internship of six months at the Marine Ste-

wardship Council (MSC). After my internship they immediately offered me a job.

What attracts me the most to MSC is that the demand of customers for sustainable

products does contribute to the sustainable exploitation of fish. Within the MSC I work

for the Developing World Program, a small department which is stimulating fisheries in

developing countries to work more sustainable and thereby involving them in the MSC-

program. My work is project based and a combination of research, tool development

for fisheries, training people and developing communication tools. No day is the same!

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JOCHEM HOP | 2008

ATKB CONSULTANCY (ZOETERMEER, THE NETHERLANDS),

RESEARCHER AND ADVISER

In 2008 I graduated with a master in Aquaculture and Fisheries (now known as Aqua-

culture and Marine Resource management). Immediately after my graduation I got a

job at ATKB consultancy for soil, water and ecology. My work focuses on research and

giving advice on subjects as fish, fish migration and fish stocks. The scientific ap-

proach, which I learned in Wageningen, is of great use for this. Although my work is

mostly office based, I also get to go out along the water during the summer. This com-

bination of theoretical and practical work doesn’t only make my work fun and diverse,

but also offers me the opportunity to expand my knowledge on fish, fish stocks and

fish migration.

ERIK VIS | 2002

BARRAMUNDI ASIA (SINGAPORE), PRODUCTION MANAGER

After spending 5 years in Japan, I started a new company in Singapore together with

a few others. This is a fish farm with a grow-out and a nursery. After several years we

were forced to produce our own vaccine and now we are also busy processing our own

fish by cutting filets. My function is production manager, which means that I have to

make sure that there is enough production (in weight) leaving the farm. I can put eve-

rything in this job and besides this I am still diving, harvesting and feeding sometimes.

Besides, we are always busy planning how to grow and increase our production.

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IMARES, part of Wageningen UR, is the Dutch institute for applied marine ecological

research. Its goal is to further advance knowledge and give advice about sustainable

management and use of both sea and coastal areas. IMARES is part of Wageningen

UR and employs several MAM alumni.

Four of those alumni share their story below:

MASCHA RASENBERG | 2011

IMARES (IJMUIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS),

PROGRAM AND PROJECT MANAGER

At IMARES my projects mainly focus on cooperation with fishermen. One of these

projects was about setting up an annual survey together with fishermen to assess the

amount of plaice and sole in the North Sea. For this survey, researchers of IMARES

would board two commercial fishing ships.

To gain more knowledge about conducting surveys, I joined the annual beam trawl

survey in 2012 and 2013. During this survey, a beam trawl (a device which scrapes

over the bottom and targets mainly flatfish) is used to assess the amount of fish in the

North Sea. A truly unforgettable experience to do two weeks of research together with

colleagues at sea.

The subjects of research projects at IMARES are very diverse and there is a good mix

of experienced and new young researchers. Researchers are encouraged to take the

responsibility for their own projects, something which I found very positive during my

first years at IMARES. Shortly after my start at IMARES, I had to lead my first project.

Although I was inexperienced, there was a lot of support from the more experienced

researchers who were always there to think along with me.

OLVIN VAN KEEKEN | 2002

IMARES (IJMUIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS), RESEARCHER FISH ECOLOGY

At the moment, I’m busy with a whole range of different projects. Many of these

projects are about monitoring fish stocks in large national freshwater bodies (Rijks-

wateren) like the IJsselmeer. This monitoring is partly in cooperation with professional

fishermen who record their catches for us. We also do our own surveys to assess the

composition of fish species along the shore of the IJsselmeer. Another recent project

is monitoring fish presence and behaviour with the use of an acoustic camera, the

DIDSON. With this device you can take recordings of fish at places like works of art

and pumping stations, but also in turbid waters and even at night. It’s a new and fun

technique to observe fish behaviour and you get to watch some fun movies as well.

ANNEKE PAIJMANS | 2008

IMARES (IJMUIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS), RESEARCHER MARINE ECOLOGY

I’m working on a wide array of projects. A lot of these projects are about environ-

mental protection laws (like Natura 2000) and Kader Richtlijn Marien, another legis-

lation for marine waters. Beside this, I’m also involved in large European projects like

MESMA, which is about spatial planning at sea. And last but not least, I’m working on

projects which involve fisheries, like cod monitoring with the help of thefishermen who

register the cod they catch.

The fun part about working at IMARES is the amount of possibilities within the institute

not just regarding the projects you get to work on but also your function within those

projects. You can be a project leader in one, the webmaster in another and work on an

elaborate literature study in a third. That way, the work will never be dull which keeps

you stimulated. My work is mainly computer based, but last summer I had the chance

to join one of the annual surveys on the North Sea which is done to estimate fish

stocks. It was great fun and you get a clear picture of how life is at a research vessel

and you get to see a lot of very different and interesting creatures.

FLOOR QUIRIJNS | 2002

IMARES (IJMUIDEN, THE NETHERLANDS), SENIOR FISHERIES SCIENTIST

I’m working at IMARES, part of Wageningen UR (formerly: RIVO). During my study

Aquaculture and Fisheries I did my thesis at the RIVO and shortly after, they offered

me a job.

At first I was collecting and analysing catch and effort data from fishermen that were

involved in my project. After that I got more and more specialised in improving the

cooperation between fishermen and researchers.

For some years now I am advising the Dutch and European governments about fis-

heries management. The fun part of all this is that I’m meeting policy makers, fisher-

men and environmentalists. This leads to very interesting conversations, which are at

times quite challenging because of all the different views on fisheries.

www.wageningenuniversity.nl

Start your dive at Aquaculture and Marine Resource Management!”