New project to shine a spotlight on sustainable aquaculture

The nonprofit Aquarium of the Pacific’s Seafood for the Future program, University of Southern California (USC) Sea Grant, California Sea Grant, and partners have been awarded $147,737 as part of the 2017 Sea Grant Aquaculture Initiative. The Aquarium-led project will result in the development of a series of videos, a web-based interactive, and educational content as part of a multi-channel communications strategy to educate the public about environmentally responsible marine aquaculture, or farming in the sea.

“This project serves a critical need to increase public awareness that marine aquaculture is environmentally sound and can supply seafood for the future,” says California Sea Grant Extension Specialist Paul Olin. Olin is contributing science-based content to support production of videos and other outreach products for the project, which was announced earlier this week.

The project will produce a series of videos featuring experts, farmers, and guest chefs, to communicate the science of aquaculture production. The series aims to increase the public’s knowledge about the many types of aquaculture production, show how science is applied on the farms to support best practices, and familiarize audiences with how to cook sustainable seafood dishes.

The project will also develop an app-based interactive platform to be featured in the Seafood for the Future exhibit at the Aquarium of the Pacific, and educational materials such as teacher resource guides for use both in and outside of formal classroom settings.

For more details, read the press release from the Aquarium of the Pacific.