Abstract:

There are considerable differences between Greece and Spain insofar as superior education in the field of Aquaculture and Fisheries (or, ‘Applied Hydrobiology’) is concerned. In Spain, despite the presence of a highly developed research potential with significant output in this field, the “1st cycle” degrees (i.e. undergraduate diplomas) on offer lack the element of ‘Applied Hydrobiology’ as such. That element, however, is offered as a rather limited part of degrees in certain other scientific and technological fields, mainly in Agricultural Engineering, Biology or Marine Sciences which are offered in Greece, too, and with the same minimal content in Aquaculture and/or Fisheries; on the other hand, in both countries courses on such “generalized” subjects do include a number of other, more basic, topics the contents of which could be applied in this field but to a rather limited extent. Conversely, in Greece the field is fully covered, in its entirety and as a separate entity, by both the University and the Technological Education sectors of higher education with, respectively, 5- and 4-year undergraduate degrees on offer; also, there is an ongoing discussion with views to further diversify the relative courses by introducing a tentative branching in the two fundamental constituents of the field. Notwithstanding, postgraduate studies (of the 2nd and 3rd “cycles”) in the same field are well established in both countries with a wide range of possibilities for specialization. In this Article we examine the actual situation and the possibilities for professional activities within the relative industries as well as with respect to other possible employment options for the graduates.

Keywords:

Studies in Aquaculture and Fisheries, Undergraduate degrees, Professional status, Graduate employment.