Gold star institute

THERE are plenty more fish in the sea, but not if fishing continues at unsustainable levels.

This was the reasoning behind Glen Searle's career move 20 years ago from commercial fishing to aquaculture.

Now Mr Searle works as a teacher at TAFE NSW-North Coast Institute's Aquaculture section at Trenayr, which was yesterday presented with a Three Star Rating for Primary Industries courses.

Institute for Trade Skills Excellence CEO Brian Wexham said the highest possible rating was given to the Trenayr section in recognition of the teachers' innovative approach to learning, and the relevance of courses to the industry.

"It's no secret there is a skills shortage in Australia, and places like the Trenayr section are providing the right education outcomes to address this shortage," he said.

With 70 per cent of the NSW silver perch industry having received training at Trenayr, Mr Searle said the institute had produced a lot of successful graduates.

"There are people all over the place doing lots of interesting things," he said.

"Students mostly aren't from Grafton; they come from all over Queensland, Victoria and even Western Australia.

"They are all incredibly motivated to learn; they come here and try to pump everything out of us they can."