The University of Maine’s Aquaculture Research Institute has been selected to receive a $123,735 workforce development grant.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration grant will fund a pilot project creating an aquaculture certificate program, which will be open to all applicants with at least a high school degree, according to a news release. The grant is administered by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.
UMaine’s project, “Aquaculture Workforce Development: Certificate in Applied Sustainable Aquaculture,” is designed to address aquaculture industry workforce needs in Maine by facilitating alternative career opportunities for traditional fishing communities.
The project also will incorporate the institute’s internship program, which pilots new internship models to meet hiring needs through industry and academic partnerships.
The 12-credit Certificate in Applied Sustainable Aquaculture will draw on the University of Maine System’s extensive aquaculture resources and educational expertise, and will include hands-on modules credentialed through the UMaine Division of Lifelong Learning, according to an ASMFC release. The new curriculum modules will focus on aquatic animal health, shellfish and finfish husbandry, recirculating aquaculture systems, and shellfish farming, and will expand to other topics as the program grows.
The project also is supported by University of Maine System funds.
The grant was one of five awarded by NOAA to support the aquaculture and seafood industries in the United States.
Last October, the institute received a $725,365 grant from NOAA’s National Sea Grant College to research an integrated approach to addressing sea lice control in the commercial culture of Atlantic salmon in sea pens.
According to the institute’s most recent economic impact report, in 2017, aquaculture is the fastest-growing food production business in the world, in both its direct and multiplier impacts. The report noted that Maine has advantages in the competitive industry because the state’s coastline and marine resources are a unique asset for aquaculture.