Aquaculture Faculty Working Session — Recap & Next Steps
Faculty from California aquaculture programs gathered to map what's already being taught, where the gaps are, and how to keep collaborating. Out of that conversation came a clear ask: a shared, living database of programs, faculty specialties, and curriculum content — so we stop reinventing the wheel and start building the pipeline together. That database is what you're looking at right now.
A database of all programs
Capture current offerings across institutions, surface overlaps and gaps, and tag every faculty member by their curriculum specialties. Jules is leading the build; the platform stays updated by the community.
How to join
Sign up with your institution email, list the courses & specialties you teach, and upload syllabi, slides, or anything you're willing to share. New accounts are reviewed by an admin before going live so the directory stays trustworthy.
Quarterly check-ins
We agreed to regular collaborative check-ins (quarterly cadence) plus a forum for between-meeting questions, contact preferences, and shared funding leads.
Curriculum topics in the database
These are the specialty tags faculty can claim on their profile and attach to any uploaded content — pulled directly from what was on the boards.
Husbandry
- • Quarantine
- • Health & disease
- • Nutrition
- • Selective breeding
- • Life cycle stages (lab + outdoor)
- • Daily / weekly maintenance
- • Microscopy & sterile technique
- • Hatchery design & operations
- • Oyster shucking & shellfish handling
- • “Care for a species for 16 weeks” capstone
Water Quality
- • Filtration & UV
- • Microbial considerations
- • Cycling tanks (plants, bioremediation)
- • Dissolved oxygen
- • Nitrogen & alkalinity
- • Sampling equipment, probes, colorimetry (QA/QC)
Life Support Systems
- • Pumps & filtration
- • Maintenance — systems & organisms
- • Feeding regimes
- • System build & oversight
- • Alarms & backups
- • Biosecurity
Food Systems
- • Nutrition
- • Safety
- • Seaweed tasting — fresh & culinary courses
- • Processing
- • Live foods
Business
- • Permits & regulations
- • Consumer preference & social license
- • Advocacy / consumer education
- • How to build & run a business in this industry
- • Marine commissioners meeting
- • “Lighthouse” business development support
- • Regional brand
Jobs / Industry / Internships
- • Career positions & job descriptions
- • Employment demand vs. skills/competencies
- • Market assessments → industry demand
- • Skills & competencies defined by industry
- • Experiential learning
- • High school → CC pathway, dual enrollment
- • Industry pull vs. academic push
- • Income reality
Focus areas
Click a focus area to filter the curriculum library.
What's already being offered
Faculty shared the programs and pathways currently running across the network. Click any program to see its faculty and curriculum.
Manage list →What we still need to build out
An advocacy coalition
A neutrally-named coalition to organize collective voice — open questions on legality and structure. Tied to a Workforce Pell Grant framework conversation.
Industry-defined skills & competencies
Career positions and job descriptions co-authored with industry, plus market assessment data so we can match academic output to real demand and income.
Shared lab/hatchery resources
Common protocols for water quality QA/QC, life support build-outs, biosecurity, and a "care for a species for 16 weeks" capstone other programs can adopt.
Business & permitting curriculum
How to build and run a business in this industry — permits/regulations, consumer education, social license, and a regional brand story.
Industry connections named
Partners faculty are already working with for internships, sites, and content.
Funding & supportive orgs
Surfaced as leads to track and share in the forum.
Next steps
- 1. Stand up the database of programs & specialties (this site).
- 2. Faculty sign up and tag their curriculum specialties.
- 3. Upload current offerings — surface overlap and gaps.
- 4. Quarterly collaborative check-ins + ongoing forum.
- 5. Form the advocacy coalition (neutral name, structure TBD).
- 6. Pursue funding leads (NSF, USDA, WUSATA, Workforce Pell).