Workforce Industry Skills Explorations

🎓 Audience

Education: Grade(s) 9, 10, 11, 12, Teacher(s)/Educator(s), Parent, Adult Learners, Homeschool/Family , Learning Pod; Public Library: Library Patrons, Library Staff

 🐾 Topics

Career & Technical Education (CTE), Economics/Business, Health & Physical Education, Industrial Technology, Professional Development, Science, STEM, Technology/Information Science

🗂️ Format

• Introduction and Prior Knowledge - The program opens with an overview of fisheries science, aquaculture, and the role of research in supporting healthy fish and shellfish populations. Participants are invited to share prior knowledge, questions, or interests related to seafood systems, marine conservation, food production, or careers in fisheries and aquaculture. Educators are encouraged to connect this discussion to ecology, population dynamics, human impacts on ecosystems, sustainability, or career and technical education pathways.

• Segment 1 – Challenges facing Florida fisheries -  Florida’s ocean and coastal ecosystems provide food, recreation, and livelihoods, but they depend on resilient fish and shellfish populations. Learners examine key challenges including habitat loss, harmful algal blooms, water quality impacts, climate stressors, and fishing pressure.

• Segment 2 - What our scientists are doing: Learners explore the Fisheries & Aquaculture Lab, where researchers develop science-based fisheries restoration strategies and environmentally sustainable marine aquaculture systems. Participants investigate advancements in sustainable seafood production, hatchery science, habitat restoration, and recovery efforts following environmental disturbances such as harmful algal blooms.

• Segment 3 - Training for the future: Learners discover how hands-on training, mentorship, and applied research prepare the next generation of fisheries scientists and aquaculture professionals. Participants explore skill development in fish and shellfish cultivation, sea vegetable production, water quality monitoring, equipment maintenance, fisheries stock assessment tools, and data collection. This segment connects workforce preparation to emerging careers in sustainable seafood systems and marine resource management.

• Live Q&A and Reflection - The session concludes with participant questions and guided reflection, allowing educators to reinforce key concepts and connect the experience to classroom learning goals.

Segments may vary based on animal needs, research priorities, or lab conditions. Every effort is made to deliver the program as outlined, with flexibility to use a combination of live and recorded video when necessary to ensure animal welfare and program quality.

🎯 Objectives

1.  Explore the role of fisheries science and sustainable aquaculture in supporting ecosystem health, food security, and resilient coastal economies.

2. Identify common research tools, restoration strategies, and aquaculture practices used to assess fish and shellfish populations, improve water quality, and strengthen habitat recovery.

3. Examine how science-based fisheries management, stock enhancement, and habitat restoration efforts are planned and implemented, including environmental and ethical considerations in sustainable seafood production.

4. Ask questions and engage in discussions about career pathways in fisheries science, aquaculture, marine resource management, and the collaboration between scientists, technicians, industry partners, and community stakeholders.

✏️ Standards this program supports

Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS)

• LS1.A (9–12) –– Structure and Function in Living Systems. Learners examine how anatomical and physiological traits influence fish and shellfish growth, reproduction, and survival. Through aquaculture and hatchery examples, participants explore how structure and function guide broodstock selection, larval rearing, feeding strategies, and system design.

• LS1.B (9–12) –– Growth and Development of Organisms. Learners analyze how life stages, environmental conditions, and nutrition influence growth rates and survival in cultured and wild populations. Hatchery case studies demonstrate how early life history research informs fisheries restoration and stock enhancement.

• LS1.C (9–12) –– Organization for Matter and Energy Flow in Organisms. Learners explore how energy transfer, feeding efficiency, and nutrient cycling operate within aquaculture systems. Water quality management, feed conversion, and system filtration illustrate how matter and energy flow are monitored and optimized.

• LS2.A (9–12) –– Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems. Learners investigate how fisheries, aquaculture operations, habitats, and coastal communities are interconnected. Examples highlight predator–prey relationships, nursery habitats such as seagrass and mangroves, and the role of shellfish in improving water quality.

• LS2.C (9–12) –– Ecosystem Dynamics, Functioning, and Resilience. Learners analyze how disturbances such as harmful algal blooms, habitat loss, and climate stressors impact fish and shellfish populations. Restoration strategies, stock assessments, and sustainable aquaculture practices demonstrate approaches that promote ecosystem resilience.

• LS4.D (9–12) –– Biodiversity and Humans. Learners examine how human activities influence fisheries sustainability and marine biodiversity. Science-based management, responsible harvest practices, and sustainable seafood systems are presented as tools to balance ecological health and economic needs.

• ETS1.B (9–12) –– Developing Possible Solutions. Learners observe how fisheries scientists and aquaculture professionals design, test, and refine systems to improve production efficiency, reduce environmental impact, and enhance restoration outcomes. Monitoring technology, data analysis, and iterative system design model real-world problem solving in marine science and resource management.

Ocean Literacy Principles

• • Ocean Literacy Principle #5 – The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.

  • Ocean Literacy Principle #6 – The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• • 4 - Quality Education

  • 14 - Life Below Water

  • 15 - Life on Land

Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (NGSSS)

• SC.912.L.14 – Organization and Development of Living Organisms. Application: Learners examine how biological systems, life cycles, and environmental conditions influence the growth and survival of fish and shellfish. Through aquaculture and hatchery examples, participants observe how genetics, nutrition, water quality, and disease management affect development from larvae to adult stages in both cultured and wild populations.

• SC.912.L.17 –– Recognize the consequences of the interactions between humans and the environment. Application: Learners analyze how habitat loss, overfishing, pollution, and harmful algal blooms impact fisheries and coastal ecosystems. Fisheries research, habitat restoration, and sustainable aquaculture practices are presented as science-based strategies to mitigate human impacts and support long-term resource sustainability.

• SC.912.N.1 – Define a problem based on a specific body of knowledge, and conduct systematic observations to identify variables. Application: Learners observe how fisheries scientists and aquaculture professionals define research questions, monitor environmental variables, collect field and laboratory data, and evaluate evidence to guide management decisions, improve production systems, and strengthen restoration outcomes.

• aquaculture: The farming of fish, shellfish, or aquatic plants for food, restoration, or research.

• aquaponics: A system that combines aquaculture and plant cultivation, where fish waste provides nutrients for plants.

• broodstock: Adult fish or shellfish selected and managed for breeding.

• bycatch: Non-target species that are unintentionally caught during fishing.

• estuary: A coastal area where freshwater from rivers mixes with saltwater from the ocean.

• fisheries management: The science-based process of regulating harvest and protecting fish populations to keep them sustainable.

• habitat restoration: Actions taken to repair damaged ecosystems so plants and animals can thrive.

• harmful algal bloom (HAB): A rapid growth of algae that can produce toxins and harm marine life, wildlife, and people.

• hatchery: A facility where fish or shellfish are bred, hatched, and raised in controlled conditions.

• larvae: An early life stage of many aquatic organisms that looks different from the adult form.

• life cycle: The series of stages an organism goes through from birth to reproduction.

• nursery: A protected area where juvenile fish or shellfish grow before moving to adult habitats.

• otolith: A small ear bone in fish used by scientists to determine age and growth patterns.

• recirculating aquaculture system (RAS): A land-based system that filters and reuses water to raise aquatic organisms efficiently.

• salinity: The amount of salt dissolved in water.

• spawning: The process by which fish or shellfish release eggs and sperm to reproduce.

• stock assessment: A scientific analysis used to estimate the size and health of a fish population.

• stock enhancement: The release of hatchery-raised fish or shellfish to support or rebuild wild populations.

• sustainable seafood: Fish or shellfish harvested or farmed in ways that protect ecosystems and maintain long-term supply.

• tagging: Attaching a marker or electronic device to a fish to track movement, growth, or survival.

• water quality: The chemical and physical characteristics of water that affect organism health, such as temperature and oxygen levels.

Play Fish Bingo

Play virtual bingo using a computer, smartphone or tablet during your program to focus on key concepts and vocabulary.

• Online

🌐 Websites

• Mote Areas of Research: Fisheries & Aquaculture

• Marine & Freshwater Aquaculture Internship

• Fisheries Ecology & Enhancement Internship

📚 Publications

• Mote Research Publications: "fisheries" & "aquaculture"

• Mote News: "fisheries" and "aquaculture"

🖥️ Videos

• Mote Marine Laboratory releases juvenile snook in partnership with Riverview High School

• Mote Marine Laboratory Fisheries Programs

• SnookRelease SarasotaBay Pool (10 News Sarasota Newsroom)

• Mote Marine Laboratory Aquaculture

• What to Expect from a Mote Internship