By Julia Robins, Staff Writer
Four Hampton University students became ambassadors this summer—aquaculture ambassadors, that is. The students are part of the Virginia Sea Grant-funded Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Ambassadors (SFAA) program, a new collaboration between Hampton University (HU) and Virginia Tech (VT).
“The main thrust for the SFAAs is to learn about all aspects of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, to develop public outreach tools for the public, and then to use those tools in public outreach venues such as Bay Days and other events around the area,” says Michael Schwarz, VT Aquaculture Specialist affiliated with Virginia Sea Grant who heads the SFAA program. “The main goal is for them to learn about local seafood, fisheries, and aquaculture so that they can inform the general public.”
Since last year, the SFAAs have been researching and studying seafood quality and safety, production, post-harvest handling, and marketing of aquaculture and fisheries at VT’s Seafood Agriculture Research and Extension Center (AREC). They have also been learning how to provide effective outreach on fisheries and bay education in the Hampton Roads area.
Aquaculture can bolster economic development in coastal communities; the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that for every person directly employed in aquaculture, up to four more are employed in related supporting industries. Processing, construction, marketing jobs, and more can result from one person getting involved in the fisheries and aquaculture workforce.
“Transferring this knowledge to the younger generation is important because farming is almost non-existent in minority groups,” says George Wenn, a Hampton senior and one of the aquaculture ambassadors. He’s looking forward to the outreach part of the program “to give them an avenue to get back into farming.”
This fall, the ambassadors will create activities and programs to educate the public about sustainable fisheries and aquaculture. These events will occur at the Virginia Aquarium, in K-12 classrooms in the Hampton Roads area, and at local community centers and events.
“The [ambassadors] are very creative. I’m just amazed at the stuff they come up with,” says Deidre Gibson, Chair and Associate Professor of the Marine and Environmental Science Department at HU and one of the program leaders. She’s excited that students will be spreading this scientific information and thinks the public will gravitate toward learning from the ambassadors, rather than “stuffy scientists.”
Gibson hopes the aquaculture ambassadors program will train “the next generation of scientists early on, so that communicating science is just second nature.”
Gibson’s confidence in the program may stem from the science communication training the ambassadors are getting from the eight-year-old Communicating Ocean Science to Informal Audiences program offered by Hampton and the Virginia Aquarium. With the help of aquarium educators, the ambassadors are not only learning how to deliver outreach and education, but also developing additional materials such as posters, games, and packets. They will also attend four outreach events for the program throughout the year.
“We’re not only teaching the next generation,” says Gibson. “We’re providing them with the tools to disseminate this information.”
Gibson, who is excited by the progress of the program, is looking forward to more collaboration between HU and VT in the future. “We’re really enjoying having the opportunity to broaden our offerings to the students,” she says. “I think it’s been a win-win for all of us.”
Additional funding for the Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Ambassadors program was provided by the National Science Foundation’s Educational Partnership in Climate Change and Sustainability, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Living Marine Resources Cooperative Science Center.
