Seabass in the Classroom

Why aquaculture?

Currently, we import 91% of the seafood that we consume in the US. Importing all that seafood costs us $16 billion annually - the second-highest expense for the US after oil importation. Plus, that seafood carries a large carbon footprint; we’re importing all this seafood from other countries that has to be shipped or flown in on transportation powered by fossil fuels.

The human population keeps growing, so we need to eat more food from high-protein sources, but we can’t seem to catch more fish. We’ve tried bigger boats and better technologies, but there are just fewer fish out there - the amount of fish caught in the wild has been decreasing or stagnant since the late 1980s. Aquaculture is an obvious solution – farming the sea like we farm the land.  The first year that we produced more fish worldwide from aquaculture than we caught in the wild was 2009[FAO] . Ocean farming uses little if any fresh water, making it one of the most eco-friendly types of farming. Fish are also the best converters of food into edible protein of any farmed animal, meaning that it takes less food to farm 1 Lb. of fish than it does to farm 1 Lb. of meat or poultry. This is because water supports the fish’s bodyweight, so they don’t need to expend energy fighting gravity like land animals do. Furthermore, while 71% of our planet is covered in oceans, only 2% of our food comes from the sea. Seafood is also a healthy source of lean protein and Omega-3 fatty acids.

America has the most coastline of any country to support these aquaculture efforts, so we should take advantage of it. That way, we’d decrease our dependence on other countries, decrease our trade deficit, and stimulate the economy by producing jobs. Engineers, nutritionists, aquatic biologists, veterinarians, and more are all needed to smoothly operate a fish farm - there are so many pieces that go into making sure a facility is successful. We're working to educate and inspire the next generation, as they'll be the ones building, designing, and creating the fish farms of the future to feed the US population.

Students and Seabass in the Classroom

The Seabass in the Classroom (SITC) education program is a saltwater classroom aquaculture program using cultured fish. This program was initiated to provide students at schools in southern California the opportunity to learn about aquaculture, fisheries, and seafood sustainability by growing juvenile white seabass (WSB) in their classrooms for release into the ocean. Through this novel, hands-on, STEM classroom program, students learn about societal issues, such as food security and emerging industries, through fun and engaging science required to support the growth and sustainability of the aquaculture industry in southern California and the nation.

Each classroom participating in the program has a purpose-built recirculating marine aquaculture system for the culture of white seabass, which requires student participation with system maintenance, water quality monitoring, feeding, food conversion efficiency, and basic fish husbandry as a supplement to classroom instruction about the science of aquaculture. Students measure, weigh, and tag the fish prior to getting a health inspection by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, after which they release the fish into the ocean. Additionally, they participate in discussions of the health of the oceans worldwide, the nutritional benefits of eating seafood, and the historical trends of fishing and population increase. Furthermore, students get the opportunity to tour HSWRI's 22,000 sq. ft. hatchery, the only marine fish hatchery on the West Coast of the US.

Personal experiences like this program, along with adequate resources and reliable educational research, are important to assist educators in teaching ocean and aquatic sciences and related environmental stewardship.

Seabass in the Classroom and Next Generation Science Standards

The SITC program is unique in that it provides opportunities for cross-functional learning; not only are students engaging with science and aquaculture principles, but they are also engaged in math calculations, science reading comprehension and analytical writing, research presentations with their peers, and computer skills, including statistical analysis.

Lesson plans have been developed by HSWRI and collaborating teachers specifically to align with the Next Generation Science Standards; these lesson plans are free and open for use by any teacher, regardless of participation in the program, and can be accessed on the Lesson Plans section of this website.

What is the impact of the Seabass in the Classroom program?

This program exposes over 1000 students each year in 11 partner schools that have released over 3600[MD3]  fish back into the oceans of southern California. Many of these students attend Title I (low income) schools or are at schools through Program Involvement School Choice (PISC) and come from inner city areas where they don't have frequent exposure to the ocean and marine life.

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