Mariculture Careers Come Into Focus

By JANE HARRISON

A new North Carolina Sea Grant video highlights a variety of careers in marine aquaculture. Also known as mariculture, the industry focuses on the cultivation of plants and animals that live in saltwater.

Aquaculture accounts for half of seafood consumed worldwide. Although mariculture now plays a relatively small role in most local economies in North Carolina, it has potential to become an economic driver in the state’s coastal communities.

We developed this video to be part of a suite of education resources that high school science and agriculture teachers can use to expose their students to mariculture science and career possibilities.

There are lots of jobs to choose from. Fish farms don’t just rely on farmers. They need technicians, managers and entrepreneurs to succeed. Distributors, chefs and scientists also play important roles in moving seafood from the water to your plate. The video, produced and filmed by Baxter Miller and Ryan Stancil, provides a glimpse into these different career paths.

Shellfish grower Ryan Bethea is one of many featured voices. “I would have never thought I would be into oyster farming,” he says in the film. “I wanted to be an attorney for a long time. I was bartending and teaching before this.”

Sea Grant also is working with local educators to develop mariculture lesson plans and a mobile aquaculture laboratory. Stay tuned for more!

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