harvest diver
Key facts
Explore a unique career combining diving skills with marine resource management. As a harvest diver, you'll sustainably collect valuable marine life, contributing to industries like cosmetics, food, and aquaculture.
Harvest divers are skilled professionals who extract and collect marine resources like algae, coral, razor shells, sea urchins, and sponges. Working to depths of up to 12 metres, you’ll utilize both breath-hold (apnoea) diving techniques and surface-supplied air equipment. Safety and responsible resource management are paramount in this role, requiring careful planning and adherence to best practices.
- • Identifying and locating target marine resources.
- • Carefully harvesting resources using appropriate tools and techniques, minimizing environmental impact.
- • Monitoring dive sites and reporting on resource availability and health.
Where this occupation is in demand
Reported labour shortages and surpluses, by year. Published for occupation groups, not for individual job titles.
Deeper colour: reported the same way in more consecutive years.
Figures cover Food processing, wood working, garment and other craft and related trades workers — 115 jobs including this one.
In shortage: Czechia.
Select a place on the map to see its figures.
About this source›
Source: ELA/EURES labour shortages and surpluses. Readings are published at occupation-group level, and cover Europe. Editions differ in annex layout and country coverage, so a change between years does not always mean the labour market changed. Countries in grey were not reported, which is not the same as being in balance.
What these words mean
The four things this section reports
- Reported demand
- Whether employers report needing people in this job — a judgement published by a national or EU body, not a count.
- Where it is heading
- Which way employment in this job is expected to move over the coming years, from an official projection.
- Openings
- Roughly how many openings arise — from growth and from people leaving the job.
- Typical pay
- What people in this job typically earn where the source publishes it. Blank does not mean unpaid; it means nobody publishes it for that place.
A measure is left out when nobody publishes it for that place, rather than shown as zero.
Which way the market leans for you
- In your favour
- More openings than people looking — employers are competing for candidates.
- Balanced
- Openings and candidates are roughly matched.
- Competitive
- More people looking than openings — expect to compete.
- Mixed evidence
- Sources disagree, or the same occupation group is short in one part and oversupplied in another.
Every source resolves to one of these four, so there is a single vocabulary to learn. What differs is the evidence behind it, which is printed underneath each verdict — a measured ratio of openings to jobseekers, or an assessment published by a national body.
How this job compares with other jobs in the same country
- Strong
- Among the strongest in that country
- Good
- Stronger than most jobs in that country
- Mixed
- About typical for that country
- Weak
- Weaker than most jobs in that country
This is a rank within one country, not a score you can carry across borders — the registers behind two countries count different people, so the same number means different things in each. It is also why a job can be among the strongest in a country and still show as Competitive: it leads the field in a market that is crowded overall.
Where these come from
Every figure is published by a national statistics office, a public employment service or an EU body, and each card names its source and the period it covers. Some places are counted monthly, others assessed once or twice a year, so two places on the same map can be describing different moments — the date is always shown.
None of this predicts one person's chances. It describes a market.
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Could harvest diver fit you?
Answer three quick questions. This is not a full assessment — it is a teaser to help you decide whether to compare your profile.
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Future Outlook for harvest diver
The outlook for harvest diver reflects a balanced mix of automation exposure and durable, human-led work.
How are these scores calculated?
The Resilience Score (0–100) estimates how structurally protected this occupation is from automation and AI disruption, based on task-level analysis. Higher scores mean more human-judgment-intensive tasks. AI Exposure shows the estimated percentage of task hours that current AI capabilities could affect. These are model-derived structural indicators, not predictions about individual job security.
How could harvest diver change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How could harvest diver change as AI adoption grows?
This role is likely to change gradually, with AI supporting selected tasks rather than replacing the whole occupation.
Illustrative scenario based on task automatability — not a forecast. Values are rounded the further ahead you look.
How AI may change this role
Deterministic, model-based interpretation of current role signals — not a guarantee of replacement.
What still depends on people
- maintain diving equipment
Where AI may become a co-pilot
- monitor aquaculture stock health standards
- manage aquatic resources
- perform diving interventions
Tasks most exposed to automation
No single task here is highly automatable yet.
Vital Signs & AI Vectors
AI Exposure Vectors
0-100%Exposure to physical automation, robotics, and sensor-driven task displacement
Exposure to AI-assisted analysis, pattern recognition, and predictive modelling tasks
Exposure to content generation, creative augmentation, and large language model tools
Exposure to workflow automation, decision-support software, and process digitisation
Technical Details
NexFuture v3.0 estimates automation exposure natively from ESCO essential-skill groups, weighted by skill mass and calibrated against expert anchors. Scores are probabilistic estimates, not guarantees. See the NexFuture Methodology White Paper for full details.
Measures automation exposure. It does not measure pay, demand, or how many jobs exist near you.
What people in this role usually do
Energy & Natural Resources
A typical day as a harvest diver
09 09:00 · Morning manage aquatic resources
10 10:30 · Mid-morning perform diving interventions
12 12:00 · Midday collect broodstock
14 14:00 · Afternoon monitor aquaculture stock health standards
15 15:30 · Late afternoon maintain diving equipment
Task order is illustrative. Individual days vary.
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fisheries legislation
The study and analysis of different fisheries management approaches taking into account international treaties and industry norms in order to analyze fisheries management regulations.
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monitor aquaculture stock health standards
Perform activities that ensure monitoring and implementation of aquaculture health standards and health analysis of the fish population.
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manage aquatic resources
Collect and select fish or other organisms from the culture environment. Handle, clean and classify the specimen. Prepare for harvesting and transport to the point of sale. Adapt techniques depending on the specific species, the next step in the process, and the final purpose.
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collect broodstock
Source broodstock from fisheries and held them in maturation tanks before collecting their seeds.
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perform diving interventions
Perform hyperbaric interventions at a maximum pressure of 4 atmospheres. Prepare and review the personal equipment and the auxiliary material. Perform and supervise the dive. Realise maintenance of the diving equipment and auxiliary material. Apply security measures to ensure the divers' safety when realising deep immersions.
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maintain diving equipment
Perform maintenance actions, including small repairs, on diving equipment.
Skill DNA
Work personality traits and values that define this role
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Where does harvest diver fit?
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Similarity scores based on skill overlap from ESCO data.
Frequently asked questions
- What kind of training is required to become a harvest diver?
- While specific training programs may vary, a strong foundation in diving, including certifications in both recreational and potentially commercial diving, is essential. Familiarity with marine biology and sustainable harvesting practices is also highly valuable. Specific training related to apnoea diving techniques is also likely required.
- Are harvest divers typically employed, or do they work independently?
- Harvest divers are primarily employed by companies involved in marine resource harvesting, aquaculture, or research. While independent contracting is possible, the majority of harvest divers work within established organizations.
- What are the working conditions like for a harvest diver?
- The work environment is underwater, often in varying weather and sea conditions. Harvest divers must be comfortable in confined spaces and able to handle physical demands. The role requires a strong commitment to safety and adherence to strict protocols to mitigate risks associated with underwater work.
- Harvest Diver — is there a shortage in Europe?
- No. In the 2025 ELA/EURES edition, a surplus was reported in 5 of the 6 European countries that assessed this occupation group: Austria, Denmark, Finland, Hungary and 1 more. One country reported a shortage. These assessments are published per occupation group rather than per job title.
- Harvest Diver — what does it pay in the United States?
- $61,130 a year at the median, as of 2025-05. State medians run from $46,490 to $161,800. Source: US Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is a United States figure and not a projection for Europe.