HARBOR BRANCH - OFFICIAL PRESS RELEASE

IRCC-Harbor Branch Open House to Showcase Brand New Fish Farming Complex and Career Opportunities

To celebrate Earth Day and the future of sustainable fish farming, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution in Fort Pierce and partner Indian River Community College will offer an Open House on Saturday, April 22 from 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m. Tours of Harbor Branch's new 30,000-square-foot aquaculture complex will be offered to the public for the first time and a variety of opportunities to experience aquaculture first-hand will also be available, such as feeding tanks of fish. Visitors will have the chance to learn about expanding career opportunities in the aquaculture field and unique training programs at Harbor Branch designed to prepare new workers to enter this exciting field.

The new aquaculture complex, constructed since the 2004 hurricanes, establishes Harbor Branch as the largest marine foodfish research facility in the southeast. The facility includes dedicated areas for breeding, nutrition studies, and engineering development work. These areas better consolidate ongoing programs and also include new, more advanced equipment, all designed with the ultimate goal of creating more energy efficient and environmentally friendly systems for fish farming.

There is enormous economic potential in Florida and around the country to farm species such as pompano, flounder, cobia, conch, clams, lobsters and others to meet the public's ever-growing demand for seafood. At Harbor Branch, college students are learning new methods to farm local species of marine fish and shellfish. This summer students with Indian River Community College will be evaluating the growth of Florida pompano along with other species in freshwater and saltwater tanks.

"Aquaculture offers the promise of a fresh, reliable supply of seafood that is produced without harm to the environment," said Kenneth Riley, director of Harbor Branch Aquaculture Education, "and that's more important now than ever." Through Harbor Branch programs, students have the opportunity to gain first-hand experience growing a variety of species at truly state-of-the-art research facilities.

Scientists at Harbor Branch have partnered with Indian River Community College to offer a unique educational program. Classes for the aquaculture education program are taught in the evening and begin May 8 for the summer semester. Students can work toward a 1-year aquaculture technology certificate, a 2-year associate's degree, or simply sign up for introductory classes to learn more about the field or to explore the possibility of a career in aquaculture. Thanks to continuing expansion of the Treasure Coast aquaculture industry, the program has now achieved a nearly 100% job placement rate for its students.

"I really enjoyed the program and the education and training helped me gain the skills needed to work at a local fish farm and eventually start my own commercial operation," said Debra Forbes, a former student and owner of the Seahorse Source in Fort Pierce.

Other past students are now working in aquaculture research at Harbor Branch and the University of Florida, and at local companies such as Indian River Aquaculture and Maritech. Many have also gone on to jobs with Harbor Branch's commercial subsidiary Oceans, Reefs and Aquariums, the world's largest producer of ornamental marine aquarium species.

"I'd say the program definitely helped me start a second career path," said Terry Lange, a retiree from the U.S. Coast Guard, who now owns and operates a successful clam farm in Sebastian.

High-resolution photos and b-roll are available to media on request. Please contact Mark Schrope at 772-216-0390 or schrope@hboi.edu with material requests or for more information.

HARBOR BRANCH Oceanographic Institution was founded in Ft. Pierce, Fla., in 1971 to support the exploration and conservation of the world's oceans. The institution has held to this mission and grown into one of the world's leading oceanographic institutions with a 500-acre campus, over 200 personnel, and a fleet of sophisticated research ships and submersibles.