Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/297333
Faces of Technology Kevan L. Main, Ph.D. Mote Aquaculture Research Park at Mote Marine Laboratory www.Mote.org Senior Scientist and Director Education: B.A. in Biological Science and M.S. in Biological Science, California State University, Northridge; Ph.D. in Biological Sciences, Florida State University Company: Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota develops new technologies to produce fish for food and restoration. Aquaculture systems are zero- discharge, environmentally friendly, recirculating systems with new developments, including integrated systems that produce plants in high-nutrient wastewater from the fish systems. Dr. Kevan Main is on a crusade to save the world— with fish. As the human population grows, the amount of food harvested on land will eventually reach its peak. What hasn't been growing, however, is the amount of seafood that is harvested from wild-caught fisheries, especially those in the United States. "I've stood in many congressional offices talking about how we're import- ing 90 percent of the seafood that is consumed in this country," said Main. "That makes seafood the second-larg- est contributor to the trade deficit." Main's role with Mote Marine Laboratory doesn't usually entail petitioning legislators; as the program manager for Mote's Marine & Freshwa- ter Aquaculture Research, her primary function is to direct the operations at Mote's 200-acre field station, Mote Aquaculture Park, in eastern Sara- sota County, where researchers and scientists are enhancing techniques to sustainably and cost effectively cultivate marine and freshwater fish and invertebrates. "Farming fish is not as simple as keeping an aquarium and letting nature run its course," said Main. The facilities at Mote maintain advanced aquatic systems to monitor water chemistry, reuse waste, filter water, control reproductive stages and much more. With expertise in behavioral ecology, Main manages the efforts to recreate the delicate balance of nature in a laboratory environment. Her team of biologists and aquaculture systems specialists are working together with engineers, chemists, aquatic vet- erinarians and geneticists to conduct research into growing sturgeon and pompano for food production, as well as growing other species for restoring fish populations in the wild. Mote is making inroads in food production—especially with its high-quality Siberian sturgeon caviar—however, Main believes there is more work to be done. Research is needed to make aquaculture more accessible so that com- munities across the country—not only those with access to large bodies of water—can support farms for local distribution while still conserving water. "Right now we're demonstrating water efficiencies of combining aquacul- ture with wastewater treatment facilities," said Main. "By bringing in wetland crops that remove the nutrients in wastewater, we can then recycle that water back to the fish production." These test systems come from years of study and firsthand contact with dif- ferent aquaculture processes that Main has seen as president of the World Aqua- culture Society. "I've been able to bring back innovative new ideas and concepts resulting from networking opportunities around the world," said Main. "And because Mote is a unique organization, one of the few private nonprofit research laboratories in the U.S., we are able to quickly respond to research needs, see what works and what doesn't, and then expand and test promising results at a com- mercial scale. I love having the flexibility to quickly respond to research needs and move ahead with new projects; it's the best way that we can make a clear impact in aquaculture." florida.HIGH.TECH 2014 15