AQUACULTURE EXTENSION SPECIALIST: MANAGING RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS

New Aquaculture Extension Specialists/Specialized Agents and their university administrators may lack extension experience, particularly at the county level.  A newly hired specialist may discover disagreement in program priorities between their academic institution and their off campus extension community.  Currently, extension methods are taught during college classes by some land grant institutions.  Still, differences may remain between departmental and county extension personnel regarding aquaculture extension program responsibilities and expected outcomes.   Conflicting expectations originate from poorly outlined specialist's responsibilities and programming priorities. This situation results from inadequate communication and agreement between the university department and off campus extension administration.  

This disagreement in priorities may easily be explained.  While land grant institutions emphasize applied agricultural research, extension and education, the vast majority of the funds go to research.  Accordingly, researchers pursue projects that fit their training, institutional capabilities and those likely to be funded.  Given this situation, research personnel consider the extension specialist's primary purpose is to teach/transfer the departments applied research to the aquaculture industry and the public.  Conversely, the Cooperative Extension Service is a grassroots organization that receives their programing objectives from the public via county extension councils.  Agricultural and Natural Resources (ANR) Agents share these needs with Aquaculture Extension Specialists/Agents.  Specialists play a supporting role by providing them technical information.  Academic and extension communities may develop different programing priorities and expectations.  To the academic department, aquaculture responsibilities would mean all subject matter pertaining to their research: the farming, processing and marketing of fish, invertebrates and plants.  The role of the extension specialist is much more generalized according to the extension community and fits the needs of their clientele.  These needs would include but are not limited to: aquaculture, farm and recreational pond management, aquatic plant identification and control, fee fishing, water quality for a variety of purposes, wildlife damage control, and watershed management.  Few ANR Agents or other Extension Specialists have aquatic environment training which creates demand for the skills of a fisheries biologist or an aquaculture specialist.

Before establishing an Aquaculture Extension Specialist/Specialized Agent position, it is recommended that the university aquaculture department and the extension administration establish and understand the positions responsibilities at the state, or regional level.  This would create a clearer understanding of the position's responsibilities, related programming objectives and expected outcomes.