Aquaculture Internship Program Update: Sustainable Agriculture

This summer, the Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research and Hancock County 4-H will offer an eight-week Aquaculture Internship Program to students aged 15 through 18. A Maine EPSCoR workforce development grant enabled creation of the program. The internship will teach students the value of sustainable aquaculture in the global food system and equip them with marketable skills relevant to the aquaculture industry.

The program will give interns real-world aquaculture experience through industry collaboration. American Unagi, a Maine company which grows American eels for the domestic market, will allow students to participate in their daily operations and gain first-hand experience with eels in recirculating aquaculture systems. Whole Oceans, a proposed land-based salmon farm in Bucksport, Maine, has agreed to speak with interns about future employment opportunities at their facility.

The program’s curriculum has been designed to teach the intricacies of recirculating aquaculture systems and their basic maintenance, the science of water quality and treatment, as well as fish waste management. The interns will raise Yellowtail Kingfish (Seriola lalandi), giving them a hands-on opportunity to learn about fish physiology, nutrition, and health. They will also work as a team to manage a project which they will present at the 4-H Exhibit Hall at the Blue Hill Fair.

Do you know a teen that would benefit from this internship? Apply for the Hancock County 4-H/CCAR Aquaculture Internship Program today.