Veterinary scene down under: Pursuing aquatic medicine, plus making inclusion structural

A career in aquatic animal health

Whilst there might be plenty of fish in the sea, according to Jo Bannister, BSc, BVMS, MANZCVS (Medicine and Management of Aquaculture Species), a veterinary aquatic pathologist from Perth, there’s a need for more veterinarians to work in the field of aquatic animal health after the retirement of several practitioners over recent years has seen a drop in the number of aquatic animal health experts working across Australia.

“This is a good time to consider a career in aquatic animal health. We desperately need more experts in this field. The only issue now is that there are very few jobs and positions out there. We have lost seven extremely experienced pathologists due to retirement over the last ten years. Currently there are only maybe four aquatic pathologists working in state laboratories around Australia,” Bannister explained to dvm360®.

Jo Bannister, BSc, BVMS, MANZCVS (Medicine and Management of Aquaculture Species) (Image provided by Bannister)

“In Western Australia, there are only 2 government veterinary aquatic pathologists. We have a very busy case load and succession planning to share the knowledge and expertise is a necessity. My job in a government laboratory provides a great work life balance – and there are no after-hours requirements unless there is a serious exotic disease incursion to work on.”

In her role, Bannister works with aquatic clients - featuring producers from around the state involved with finfish, mollusks, and crustaceans, who are experiencing morbidity and mortality events.

“It is the state government laboratory responsibility to conduct passive surveillance to detect notifiable and exotic diseases. It is vital that this surveillance is done to protect our native aquatic species and industries. I also conduct a lot of health testing so that clients can move animals around the state for various purposes such as grow out and restocking,” said Bannister.

“I also see all sorts of aquatic animals including octopus, sea cucumbers, coral, and even seaweed! I speak to clients to find out the history, clinical signs and signalment as you would do in any veterinary practice. I then determine a sampling plan and when samples arrive at the lab, I conduct a postmortem examination and take samples to work out a diagnosis.”

A large part of the work of a veterinary aquatic pathologist is interpreting histology slides and identifying causes of disease.

“This can be very challenging in the field of aquatics as we work with many unknown parasites and diseases, some of which may never have been seen before. I absolutely love histopathology now and genuinely get excited when I start reading a case,” said Bannister.

“I have also developed a special interest in Fish Telemetry, which involves the insertion of acoustic tags into fish so that their movement patterns can be monitored to help with environmental planning. After being approached by some researchers involved in water management, I developed a surgical protocol to insert acoustic tags into native freshwater catfish to inform environmental water planning. I conducted the surgical protocol three times over three years and successfully inserted tags into over fifty catfish with 100% survival. This was a great example of translating vet skills into other species and adapting them to a different species!”

Bannister with a fish

For veterinarians curious to learn more about a career in aquatic animal health, Bannister recommends joining aquatic animal health groups, like the World Aquatic Veterinary Medical Association (WAVMA).

“Networking is the only way to find out who is doing what in this area. WAVMA has many fabulous webinars that demonstrate the various areas in which you can work in aquatics. You need to pick a side, aquatic pathology or aquatic production - and I would recommend doing pracs with people working in both areas,” explained Bannister.

“Also consider taking membership examinations with the Australian and New Zealand College of Veterinary Scientists. There are also many great international conferences and courses to consider too. AQUAVET in the US is phenomenal, and there is also the European Society of Fish Pathologists and many aquatic groups in the US also. The field of aquatic pathology is such an interesting, up and coming area – and you get to work with some fabulous aquatic creatures and people as well!”

Vetquity turning inclusion into infrastructure

With a mission to help build more inclusive veterinary workplaces, Alex Harrison, BSc, BVMS, MANZCVS, from Adelaide, founded Vetquity Consultancy to turn inclusion into infrastructure through the provision of practical tools and strategies tailored to the realities of veterinary medicine.

Harrison is a small animal clinician who still works full time with veterinary teams; however, he has recently started Vetquity after realizing that veterinary leaders wanted to build more inclusive workplaces, but many simply didn’t know how to make it happen.

“As Australia’s first profoundly deaf veterinarian, and a former practice owner, I’ve spent 25 years navigating a profession not designed with people like me in mind. That lived experience put me in a unique position to build something beyond generic diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) resources,” explained Harrison to dvm360.

“After years of advocating for DEI in the veterinary space in Australia and helping raise awareness of its link to mental health, I saw a missing piece: while advocacy sparks awareness, it doesn’t always offer the tools for real, structural change. Consultancy can.”

Earlier this year, Harrison was honored with the Australian Veterinary Association (AVA) President’s Award for his vision and practical leadership in reshaping veterinary workplaces to be more inclusive, equitable, and supportive.

“The 2023-2024 AVA Workforce Survey found that 38% of veterinarians in Australia identify as having disability, chronic illness, or neurodivergence. Through my work and that of The Veterinary Kaleidoscope - there’s growing recognition that ableism and other forms of discrimination are not peripheral issues - they shape workforce wellbeing and retention,” said Harrison.

“Vetquity supports clinics and organisations in a several ways: from helping set up DEI subcommittees with intention, to improving accessibility - for both staff and clients. But I also know many clinics are under budget pressure, or hesitant after engaging with performative inclusion initiatives that didn’t deliver. That’s why I developed a set of downloadable, trauma-informed, veterinary-specific tools: the Vetquity Inclusion Lab Signature Series.”

The modular and practical tools that Harrison has designed, work as an ecosystem to embed inclusion into workplace culture and are available as individual resources or a bundle set.

“The tools include the world’s first Accessibility Self-Audit for Veterinary Clinics—to help identify barriers before they become burnout, injury, or attrition. Then there’s a disclosure safety framework to shift from passive ‘speak up’ models to proactive systems that foster psychological safety and trust,” shared Harrison.

“I also developed an Inclusive Hiring and Recruitment Toolkit to build equity into every stage - from job ad to onboarding. There’s an Inclusive Survey and Demographics Guide to help you ask better questions, count everyone, and stop erasing lived experience. Plus, there’s a Policy Review and Reform tool to make sure your documents reflect your values - and don’t unintentionally exclude.”

The final tool in the Vetquity series, is the ‘Everyday Inclusion Playbook’, which has been designed to reflect that sometimes it’s not policy that makes someone leave a workplace, it’s a ‘moment’ or experience.

“Mental health remains a major concern in our profession, but we’re still catching up to the fact that for many marginalised professionals, those mental health challenges are compounded, unique, and often worse. Our current models are often too generic to respond effectively. There can be no meaningful mental health reform without DEI at the table,” said Harrison.

“Looking ahead, I hope our leadership styles evolve - from hierarchical to trauma-informed, from performative to practical. I hope we stop losing great people to cultures that were never designed for them to thrive. And I hope Vetquity can be one small part of that shift.”