Mote scientist honored by global aquaculture community
Mote Marine Laboratory Senior Scientist Dr. Kevan Main was honored with the Fellow of the World Aquaculture Society Award during the Feb. 23 opening ceremony of the society’s conference in Las Vegas.
The World Aquaculture Society (WAS), which has 3,000 members in about 100 countries, represents the global community of professionals involved in aquaculture — farming aquatic life forms such as fish. Each Fellow of WAS is “a member who has made outstanding achievements in aquaculture science, industry, outreach or extension as recognized by his/her peers,” according to the WAS website.
Main, who leads Mote’s Marine and Freshwater Aquaculture Program, has more than 30 years of experience in the aquaculture of tropical and subtropical fish and invertebrates from around the world. She has published seven books and more than 50 peer-reviewed publications and has traveled to aquaculture facilities throughout Asia, Europe and the U.S. She is a current member and Past President of WAS, having completing her presidency in February 2013.
“It is a great honor to be recognized by my colleagues in the World Aquaculture Society with this Fellow award,” Main said. “Membership and Board service with this organization have played important roles in my professional career by providing networking opportunities with fellow aquaculture scientists and producers around the world. I am excited about serving as a Fellow and continuing to promote global growth of the World Aquaculture Society.”
Main directs research at Mote Aquaculture Park, the Lab’s 200-acre sustainable fish farming research facility in eastern Sarasota County, Fla. There, scientists are developing innovative ways to farm marine fish for food and stock enhancement using water systems that filter and recycle 100 percent of the seawater and capture fish waste to fertilize wetland plants for environmental restoration.
One of Main’s latest projects is a prototype marine aquaponics system, where her team is combining aquaculture (with red drum) and hydroponics (with sea purslane and saltwort) to produce sustainable food fish and two edible sea vegetables.
Main and her colleagues have worked to develop sustainable spawning and/or rearing technologies for numerous species, including common snook, Pacific snook, Florida pompano, southern flounder, greater amberjack, red drum, red snapper, freshwater sturgeon and more.
Developing sustainable aquaculture is critical. The U.S. currently imports 91 percent of its seafood, and about half of that is produced by aquaculture. In January, a new federal rule was announced to help the U.S. farm-raise more sustainable, domestic seafood in the Gulf. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the publication of a groundbreaking rule implementing the Fishery Management Plan for Aquaculture in Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf Aquaculture Plan). The rule is a major step forward because it allows for large-scale fish farming in offshore, federal waters of the Gulf — beyond state waters where U.S. aquaculture has historically remained.
The new federal rule opens doors for increasing seafood production using the kinds of sustainable and economically sound aquaculture practices that Mote researchers have been studying and developing independently for years. Rearing hatchery fish in eco-friendly systems is an important way to support upcoming offshore aquaculture programs.
Read Main’s article on the Gulf Aquaculture Plan.
In addition, Main and fellow Mote Senior Scientist Dr. Dana Wetzel are currently leading lab studies on how oil pollution affects Gulf fishes, as part of the C-IMAGE II consortium studying the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. These studies are possible through Mote’s efforts to rear and breed key fish species.