AQUA | Aquaculture in the Pacific Islands | Food | Education | Food & Agriculture Orgnization

  • Felix Calvo

    Rota farmer Felix Calvo feeding his tilapia

  • Abalone

    Big Island Abalone

  • Tilapia fry

    Tilapia fry being transferred to Waialua H.S.

  • Seafood

    Delicious fish

  • Shrimp

    Shrimp

Get Involved! The AQUA program is a public outreach and K-12 education program that aims to educate residents in Hawaii and U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands about aquaculture. It is a collaborative effort between multiple organizations involved in aquaculture in the region, and is managed by the Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA).

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What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is raising fish and/or other seafood animals. The Food & Agriculture Orgnization (FAO) defines it as the farming of aquatic organisms in inland and coastal areas, involving intervention in the rearing process to enhance production and the individual or corporate ownership of stock being cultivated.

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Aquaculture & Food Security

Food security is a significant issue that effects all people. The FAO estimates that approximately one billion people world-wide depend on fish as their primary animal protein source*. However, wild fisheries are being depleted at a rapid rate due to a variety of factors, mainly overfishing, leaving nearly half of the known ocean fisheries completely exploited*. As natural fish stocks continue to drop, aquaculture will play an increasingly important role in supplying the world with seafood. Currently, nearly half of the seafood consumed worldwide is from aquaculture. Most of the food we eat in the Pacific Islands is shipped in on boats and airplanes, including the seafood! Local aquaculture can help islanders to restore a sustainable food supply.

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AQUAYouth

AQUAYouth is the K-12 education component of the AQUA project. The AQUAYouth section of the website has aquaculture resources for both teachers and students. The AQUA curriculum, available for download on the Curriculum page, is for all grade levels and offers educators and students the opportunity to experience how fun and productive it can be to learn science and other subjects through aquaculture. From the history of aquaculture (worldwide and in the Pacific), to step-by-step instructions on maintaining and experimenting with a system at your school, this curriculum provides hands-on learning across a variety of subjects, including science, math, history, art, and more!


Latest News

Keep up with the latest developments...

Aquaculture of Yellow Tang Will Help Protect Reefs
Aquaculture of Yellow Tang Will Help Protect Reefs

Research conducted at the Oceanic Institute (OI) and sponsored by CTSA has resulted in new knowledge that may lead to the eventual captive...

Prawn Research Success in Fiji
Prawn Research Success in Fiji

A milestone in aquaculture research has been achieved at the Seawater Laboratory of the Division of Marine Studies at the University of the South...

Learning from Ancient Hawaiians
Learning from Ancient Hawaiians

A recent study has shown that ancient Hawaiians and other historic civilizations practiced good fisheries management, including the use of sustainable aquaculture practices.

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Published: Friday,...