48 June 2010 Extension’s Role in the US Aquaculture Industry Aquaculture has been practiced by the Chinese for thousands of years. Oyster farming can be traced back to ancient times through the writings of Aristotle, who wrote about oysters in 320 B.C., so the practice is not really new. However, modern aquaculture practices are relatively new to world-wide food and fiber production practices. Since the inception of the Cooperative Extension and Sea Grant Marine Advisory systems, the agricultural and fisheries foodproduction industries have a long history of putting their trust in information disseminated by these professionals. The extension mandate that only “science-based” information be disseminated has engendered the American public utilizing these services with a certain amount of trust and confidence in the information supplied. There currently exists a cadre of extension professionals with training and expertise in aquaculture and extension practices in the marine and freshwater environments. They are trained in methods to summarize and disseminate new, science-based information so that lay professionals can understand the implications of this new knowledge on their industry and vise versa; this is their role. This role is taken very seriously. However, with increased fiscal concerns by our state and federal partners and communications technologies that are evolving at a rate unparalleled in human history, how does extension education fit into modern-day society? With increasingly limited budgets and staffing cuts seen in recent years, are we going to do away with the basic premise and foundation of the extension method: the demonstration project? Are we moving toward reliance solely upon electronic media and digital communications? Is the premise elucidated by Benjamin Franklin and later developed into a working model by Seaman Knapp irrelevant in modern society? Are we competing with technology in providing timely, science-based information to the public, particularly in areas such as production aquaculture? Modern-day information technology is a tool that the modern extension professional must learn how to use effectively. Information relevant to many subjects is increasingly available at the click of a mouse. But is simply having access to information enough? Has the role of the extension professional simply become a trained subject-matter specialist that merely points their clientele to web sites for information relevant to the questions at hand? The answer should be a resounding “NO!” The Demonstration Project and Its Impact on US Aquaculture New industries have been started, old industries have been revitalized and still others have changed their way of doing business because of many factors, such as the passing of new laws, new public perceptions, increasing competition for natural resources, overseas markets, new, rapidly spreading diseases and the culture of new species. The information provided herein highlights but a few of the interactions among researchers, the extension community and the aquaculture industry to improve the competitiveness of US aquaculture via the conduct of hands-on demonstration projects, such as those endorsed by Seaman Knapp in the 19th century. CLAMMRS The Clam Lease Assessment, Management, and Modeling Using Remote Sensing (CLAMMRS) project was conceived, initiated, and is currently administered by the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences through an initial grant from USDA’s (United States Department of Agriculture) Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems in 2000 with subsequent funding from USDA’s Risk Management Agency. The project is a collaborative effort between several federal and state funded programs and involves research and extension faculty from the Department of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences and Cooperative Extension Service in collaboration Installation of a weather and water quality monitoring station at a high-density clam lease area near Cedar Key, Florida. (Photo: Leslie Sturmer, University of Florida Shellfish Aquaculture Extension Program) Final product: hard clams produced in Florida. (Photo: Eric Zamora, University of Florida)
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