Aquaculture

Fostering Responsible Aquaculture

Florida Sea Grant supports research and extension to grow sustainable aquaculture in the state and reap its social, economic, and environmental benefits.

Programs
& Initiatives

Florida Aqua Talks

The Florida #AquaTalk series, hosted by our UF/IFAS Florida Sea Grant agents and researchers, introduces viewers

to the various types of aquaculture happening around Florida.

Seafood Virtual Office Hour

Drop in with food and aquaculture experts answering your seafood-related questions live.

Introductory Information About Aquaponics

Interested in freshwater or marine aquaponics? Before you start your own aquaponics system, browse this curated resource repository that addresses what to know and plan for before you dive in.

HARVEST Internship

The HARVEST (Helping Aquaculture Reap Value and Enhance Student Training) Internship Program places students interested in aquaculture with an industry member to meet a need determined by the business, providing workforce training for the student and providing benefit to the industry.

Online Resource Guide for Florida Shellfish Aquaculture

Interested in shellfish farming in Florida? Find updates on research and extension projects, presentations from industry workshops, suppliers’ lists and pertinent publications.

Seafood HACCP Training and Education

Florida Sea Grant provides seafood processors and importers with the essential training that helps identify hazards that are associated with fish and fishery products.

Online Oyster Culture Course

This online course is developed for beginning oyster growers and those interested in learning about the prospects of off-bottom oyster culture in the Gulf of Mexico region. Four virtual sessions provides participants with the basics of how to get started and grow a crop of oysters to harvest.

Featured Agent

Dr. Laura
Tiu

County Extension Agent,
Walton County

We need aquaculture and wild fisheries to meet future seafood demands of a growing population. Working with the aquaculture industry for over 30 years, it has been inspiring to see significant improvements within the aquaculture sector in terms of sustainable production. Aquaculture farmers have an important stewardship responsibility to care for their animals and they depend on a healthy environment to sustainably produce a quality and safe product.

Featured Agent

Dr. Laura Tiu

County Extension Agent,
Walton County

Pioneering Offshore Aquaculture

In The
Gulf of Mexico

NOAA Office of Aquaculture supports the goal of a well-informed public by investing approximately $20 million annually to support aquaculture, research, education, and engagement. Florida Sea Grant manages the resulting Florida-based projects and supports collaborative, multidisciplinary research partnerships involving academia, private industry, and federal partners.

To communicate the current state of knowledge about offshore aquaculture, Florida Sea Grant has partnered with Ocean Era on the Velella Epsilon Project, a pioneering offshore aquaculture project in the southeastern Gulf of Mexico. This project will deploy and operate a single, small-scale demonstration fish net pen to collect data to inform policymakers, the public, and fishing industry interests about offshore aquaculture while documenting the process for future applicants to follow.

Florida Sea Grant will work to engage in active public outreach with the goal of educating stakeholders and the wider community about the current state of knowledge of offshore aquaculture including making available pertinent offshore aquaculture information and resources, and the environmental monitoring data from waters surrounding the array.

underwater photo looking up towards the surface showing silhouettes of two divers and large sphere containing many fish — **2018:** Florida Sea Grant's Dr. Laura Tiu became involved in the Velella project. **Learn more about the Velella project.**

a large collection of fish swimming in various directions — **2019:** Dr. Laura Tiu worked with Leroy Creswell to coordinate the 2019 Offshore Aquaculture Workshop in collaboration with Mote Marine Laboratory. **Learn more about the Workshop.**

2020-21: With help from EEBlue Funds and the 2020-2021 FSG HARVEST Internship, an offshore aquaculture display at Mote Aquarium was established. Learn more about the display. — **2020-21:** With help from EEBlue Funds and the 2020-2021 FSG HARVEST Internship, an offshore aquaculture display at Mote Aquarium was established. **Learn more about the display.**

2022: Harvest Intern Hayley Lemoine created a Manual for Aquaculture Permitting Pathway (MAPP), which provides a detailed timeline of Ocean Era’s experience pursuing federal permits for Velella Epsilon, the first net pen in federal waters. Learn more about MAPP. — **2022:** Harvest Intern Hayley Lemoine created a Manual for Aquaculture Permitting Pathway (MAPP), which provides a detailed timeline of Ocean Era’s experience pursuing federal permits for Velella Epsilon, the first net pen in federal waters. **Learn more about MAPP.**

Benefiting ecosystems & industry in times of need

During the 2020 pandemic, the Florida Sea Grant-funded Clam Buyback program helped bolster the aquaculture industry when it was in dire need. It increased the number and genetic diversity of clams that restoration efforts could release in the Indian River Lagoon and improved the degraded ecosystem.