IFOP Repopulation and Cultivation researchers carried out various outreach and community outreach activities
November 20th, 2024During the month of October, various activities were carried out aimed at promoting small-scale aquaculture (SSA) and the underlying scientific disciplines and technologies among students, fishermen and the general community.
On October 9, and at the request of the municipality of Quemchi, Dr. Francisco Cárcamo traveled to Tac Island to be part of the Artisanal Fishing Seminar – Voices of the Ocean, with the participation of artisanal fishermen and shore collectors from this island, presenting the presentation “SSA and artisanal fishing”, where the progress, challenges and opportunities for fishermen to transition to SSA were discussed.
On October 17 and 18, the II Science, Technology and Arts Fair CIENTEART “Cochamó: Union of Waters” was held in Cochamó, organized by the Science Department of the Juan Soler Border School and the Science Club Foundation of Chile, with IFOP as a sponsor of the event. Dr. Cárcamo was part of the review committee of scientific works presented by various schools in Chile. In addition, a stand was set up so that the community could learn about part of the work carried out by the institution. Francisco Cárcamo indicated “that this experience was super enriching and gratifying, valuing the interest in developing science by students and its promotion by science teachers. Also, the community can learn about the main lines of work that IFOP develops, learning about opportunities for the community such as species diversification and environmental problems such as the invasive microalgae species dydimo (Didymosphenia geminata), which also affects rivers in the area.”
Finally, on October 22, and as part of the collaborative work started this year with the Juan Soler Manfredini High School of Cochamó in the field of APE, and which has as its main objective to support the formative and practical development of the students of the aquaculture specialty of the High School, with emphasis on APE, the first sowing of Chilean oyster and Pacific oyster was carried out, in the CCAA belonging to the municipality of Cochamó in conjunction with the Juan Soler Manfredini High School. This activity is part of the component of Implementation of experimental initiatives APE (in aquaculture concession, which is administered by the Municipal Corporation of Cochamó).
In this regard, Sebastián Cook, researcher of the repopulation and cultivation department explained “that the sowing was a success, since approximately 1000 seeds of each resource were incorporated into the system. This experience is very important for the high school students as it shows them the future prospects for aquaculture and encourages the diversification of cultivable organisms in these places where the main focus of aquaculture is seed collection or salmon farming. The students learned about these resources and their cultivation methods, which in the future could be other species with the potential to diversify small-scale aquaculture in the south of our country.”
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