The University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) Indian River Research and Education Center’s (IRREC) aquaculture program, directed by Cortney Ohs, donated locally raised fish to the Jones’ Pier Interpretive Center in Vero Beach as part of their grand opening ceremony on March 21.
The fish that were donated included silver jenny mojarras, harlequin bass, and spotfin butterflyfish. Shopnitz was also able to arrange the acquisition of two more species Smallmouth Grunt and Atlantic Spadefish through ProAquatix in Vero Beach.
Fred Shopnitz, a biological scientist at IRREC’s aquaculture program, said the donation included species of fish that are found to be in the local ecosystem. “We were able to donate aquacultured species of fish that you’d be able to find in the (Indian River) lagoon,” he said.
The center will serve to showcase the history of the Jones family and the Indian River Lagoon to the public, with an aquarium inside containing native fish species.
Shopnitz believes donating the fish aligns with the IRREC aquaculture program’s goals of supporting local education centers.
“We’ve got a lot of people passing through the Fort Pierce and Vero Beach area, and this is their time to get exposed to what the University of Florida is doing,” he said. “This is just one more place where you can see the tangible impact of what we do in this aquaculture lab by having these fish on display. And you didn’t have to go take them from the wild to do it; they were all brought there in a sustainable manner.”
The Aquaculture Program’s donation also provides an opportunity to expose the public to what aquaculture is and how large of an industry it’s become.
He argues donating to the center may help develop and strengthen relationships with other environmental organizations like the Environmental Learning Center (ELC) and the Ocean Research and Conservation Association (ORCA), both located in Vero Beach.
“A lot of us don’t know each other, even though we’re on the same mission,” he said. “County staff involved with Jones Pier didn’t really know me when they reached out, and I didn’t really know them, and now we have a connection through this aquarium.”
Shopnitz got to meet people who work for Indian River County and was able to expose them to what he and others do at IRREC and how they can serve as a resource.
“Now they understand that University of Florida has this aquaculture resource that they can apply broadly to help with local environmental education programs and centers,” he said.
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