FKCC PRODUCT DISBURSEMENT II: CULTURED MARINE ORNAMENTAL FISH

Travis G. Knorr, Michelle L. Walsh, Lana Sielski, and Patrick H. Rice
 
Florida Keys Community College
Key West, FL 33040
travis.knorr@fkcc.edu
 

At Florida Keys Community College (FKCC), the primary aquaculture product of our Tropical Ornamental Mariculture Technician (TOMT) Certificate Program is trained aquaculture technicians. However, a mass byproduct of the program is cultured marine ornamental fish, including the False Percula clownfish Amphiprion ocellaris, the Tomato clownfish Amphiprion frenatus, the Gold Stripe Maroon Clownfish, Premnas biaculeatus, as well as a number of designer varieties of these species. We have also reared the Orchid Dottyback Pseudochromis fridmani and the Blue Neon Goby Elacatinus oceanops. Since 2015, our students have produced thousands of fish as a result of our program.

While we are currently developing internal procedures for selling our fish to distributers, wholesales, and retailers, we are also working closely with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Division of Aquaculture to formally obtain our State Aquaculture Certificate of Registration.  In the meantime, we have be donating fish to various K-16 educational facilities within and beyond the Florida Keys, including the Key West Preschool Co-op and the Key West Collegiate Academy charter high school. We have provided bonded pairs of clownfish fish to The University of New Hampshire's Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Club. In addition, we provide researchers at Wartburg College in Iowa with clownfish for research purposes. Clownfish are a good model species of saltwater fish, are easy to rear in captivity, and large numbers can be kept in a small space. 

In 2017, FKCC launched its inaugural Jr. Tropical Hobbyist summer camp. Through hands-on interactions in college labs, campers investigated live feeds, water quality, and basic tank care and maintenance. At culmination, each camper built and took home their own aquarium with an FKCC-reared clownfish

In 2015, we launched our Adopt-a-Clownfish program. Individuals are given the opportunity to take home a clownfish of their own through an optional donation to the College. All proceeds benefit FKCC's Tropical Ornamental Mariculture Program.

Proceeds gained from rehoming FKCC clownfish will enhance the experience of the TOMT students. Currently students pay laboratory fees that cover costs such as fish feeds and system maintenance. Lowering the financial burden on these students incentivizes enrollment and makes our small college a competitor among larger schools and universities. As we refine and advance our production of aquacultured species, we gain the ability to incorporate an aquaculture business model into the TOMT program. By providing a real world example of a successful aquaculture facility, students gain another layer of education. This is quite valuable as many of our students have an entrepreneurial drive and are motivated to begin their own private venture in the marine aquaculture industry.