The Moss Point CTE Aquaculture program offers a unique model of conservation-driven, hands-on STEM education in a high-poverty, predominantly minority high school setting. Designed to meet both educational and ecological needs, this program integrates aquaculture, aquaponics, and hatchery management to provide students with industry-aligned career skills while contributing to regional habitat restoration.
Students progress through a rigorous, hands-on curriculum aligned with Mississippi’s state CTE standards and the National Agriculture, Food, and Natural Resources (AFNR) Career Cluster Content Standards. The program covers aquaponics, water quality chemistry, hatchery and pond management, waste remediation, and species-specific production techniques. Throughout the two-year course sequence, students gain technical competencies and complete over 35 hours of supervised work-based learning via SAEs, internships, and school-based enterprises.
Students also benefit from early exposure to industry through partnerships such as GenSea’s Blue Economy Summer Internship, which places them directly into aquaculture and marine science career experiences. These opportunities create a clear pathway into both postsecondary education and the growing aquatic workforce.
High school vocational aquaculture programs are rare, making this initiative especially valuable. Moss Point CTE was the second program of its kind in Mississippi, following Ocean Springs, with a third currently under development—signaling statewide momentum in addressing future blue economy demands.
This presentation will highlight curriculum strategies, industry partnerships, and student outcomes to demonstrate how secondary aquaculture education can help meet both environmental goals and workforce needs in a rapidly expanding field.