Welcome to the Department of Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture

B.Sc. in Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture

The Department of Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture (ASFA) under the College of Natural and Computational Sciences (CNCS), Hawassa University (HU) was emerged as new Department as of February, 2021. It is one of the youngest Departments in CNCS that trains students at undergraduate, post graduate and at doctoral degree levels.  At present the Department has three spacious laboratories equipped with some fundamental laboratory equipment and instruments and recirculation facility to rear fish larvae and fingerlings. Moreover, the Department has one modern Fish Breeding and Production facility to impart practical field work in the Main Campus of Hawassa University.

Name of the degree to be awarded is “Bachelor of science Degree in Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture.” The program has 9 modules having 54 courses. This includes General courses, Supporting Courses, Biological courses, Aquaculture production and management, Fish genetic and breeding, Fish Nutrition and health management, Fishery biology and management, Aquatic ecology and ecotoxicology, Fisheries economic and aquaculture business Research methods and applications and Elective courses. All the modules sum up to have 243 ECTS to be completed in period of 4 years’ study.

Graduate profile

Specifically graduates should be able to:

• Use and handle basic tools lab equipment’s, chemicals, and reagents used in ASFA effectively
• Transfer basic knowledge concerning inland water bodies and their biota
• Understand the structure and function of the aquatic ecosystems
• Develop proposal and design experiment in ASFA 
• Understand characteristics and nutritive value of major aquatic food sources, food safety, food processing, storage, and post harvesting technology for sustainable production and resources management

M.Sc. in Aquaculture and Fishery Management 

Trained personnel in aquaculture and fisheries management should contribute its part in the concrete effort the government is exerting to combine the labor force, natural resources, and national and international funding to meet the challenges and deliver the country out of hunger and poverty and thereby create jobs and revenue for the nation. This M.Sc. degree was therefore designed to meet the basic objectives mentioned above.

The degree awarded after successful completion of the program is referred to as: Master of Science Degree in Aquaculture and Fisheries Management. Students are required to take a total of 32 Cr. Hr. courses and the time duration to complete the program is two years.

Graduate profiles and competencies

After completing the master’s degree, the graduates should have the following profile;

• Adequate scientific knowledge in aquaculture and fisheries to devise management plans to meet national needs of producing sufficient animal protein in sustainable manner.
• Sufficient knowledge in managing lakes, rivers and wetlands for sustainable production of capture fisheries.
• Capacity to establish farms and firms of aquaculture in order to meet the growing needs of the population.
• Ability to mitigate environmental impacts (pollution, eutrophication etc.) that could come along the development efforts of the sector.
• Capacity to train personnel to satisfy the needs of the end-users by combining the challenges of current changes in environmental conditions with the efforts of conserving aquatic resources in a sustainable manner.

PhD in Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture

The PhD curriculum in ASFA is designed to produce the appropriate human resource by training researchers and practitioners so that our aquatic resources are accurately studied, properly managed, and sustainably used. The duration of the study is five years. 13 cr. Hr. for course work and 12 cr. Hr. for dissertation are required to complete this PhD program.

Graduate profiles and competencies

After completing a PhD degree in Aquatic Sciences, Fisheries and Aquaculture, a graduate should;

• Understand how different inland water bodies such as lakes, reservoirs, rivers, streams and wetlands function and how to use these resources for sustainable production of capture fisheries and aquaculture;
• Acquire sufficient scientific knowledge and academic capability in aquatic sciences, fisheries and aquaculture to prepare management plans to meet the national needs of managing aquatic resources in a sustainable manner;
• Be able to establish new aquaculture farms in order to meet the growing demand of animal protein of the population;
• Be able to guide mitigation efforts of environmental impacts (pollution, eutrophication etc.) that could come along the development efforts of the sector;
• Provide the proper advice that are expected of such a trained personnel to satisfy the needs of policy and decision makers as well as other end-users by combining the challenges of current changes in environmental conditions with the efforts of conserving aquatic resources in a sustainable manner;
• Develop and implement project documents in the areas of fisheries, aquaculture and aquatic sciences;
• Establish research cooperation with local and international research institutions and Universities;
• Prepare a business plan for aquaculture of fish, algae, shellfish, etc.