![Aquaculture hero — shellfish longline harvest — Program imagery, fisheries/aquaculture cluster.](/sites/default/files/2026-01/Aquaculture_Shellfish_Longline_Harvest.png?alternateWidths=/sites/default/files/styles/canvas_parametrized_width--%7Bwidth%7D/public/2026-01/Aquaculture_Shellfish_Longline_Harvest.png.avif%3Fitok%3DwqiT8q-E) Case Study # Aquaculture and Fisheries Growing seafood and managing wild stocks, taught as one subject because in practice nobody works on only one of them. [ Start an application ](/standard-page/how-to-apply) [ Download the handbook ](/standard-page/admissions) Aquaculture and Fisheries is a food production degree with a conservation science underneath it. The two halves are taught together because the industry does not separate them: the same regional questions about carrying capacity, disease, water quality and market access come up whether the animal was caught or grown. ## What you study Biology first — introductory marine biology and fish biology — then the applied sequence: principles of aquaculture, shellfish culture, stock assessment and sustainable systems. Stock assessment is the technical heart of the fisheries side. It is the modeling that turns catch records, survey data and biological sampling into a defensible number for how much can be removed from a population. The models are old, the data are worse than anyone wants, and real people's livelihoods rest on the output. We teach it as applied statistics under conditions of moral seriousness. The aquaculture side is increasingly a water chemistry problem. Regional hatcheries have had crop failures that track periods of low pH in their intake water, and working out when to buffer and when to close the intake is a live operational question rather than a textbook one. ## Placements The partnership with a regional shellfish hatchery places two students each summer. Placement students work a full production season and several have been hired directly afterward. ## Where it leads Hatchery and farm production, fisheries management with state and federal agencies, seafood industry roles, consulting, and graduate study. The MS in Marine Resource Management takes graduates of this program most years. ## What to expect Early mornings, animal husbandry that does not pause for weekends, and a fair amount of standing in water. Students who have worked on a boat or in a hatchery before tend to arrive knowing this. ## Curriculum MBIO 101 [Introduction to Marine Biology](/course/introduction-to-marine-biology)The first-year foundation in marine life: cells, inheritance, evolution and the diversity of organisms, with the local shoreline as the standing example. 1 AQUA 210 [Principles of Aquaculture](/course/principles-of-aquaculture)How aquatic animals are grown: systems, species, water quality, nutrition and the economics that decide what is worth farming. 1 MBIO 320 [Fish Biology](/course/fish-biology)The biology of fishes, from physiology and life history to the population processes that fisheries management depends on. 1 AQUA 300 [Shellfish Culture](/course/shellfish-culture)Hatchery and grow-out production of oysters, clams and scallops, including the water chemistry problem that has made larval survival unpredictable. 1 AQUA 350 [Fisheries Stock Assessment](/course/fisheries-stock-assessment)Turning catch records, survey data and biological sampling into a defensible number for how much can be taken. 1.5 AQUA 430 [Sustainable Aquaculture Systems](/course/sustainable-aquaculture-systems)Environmental interaction, carrying capacity and certification — what makes a farm sustainable and who gets to say so. 1 ## Common questions ### Click to expand accordion Is housing guaranteed for first-year students? Yes, for all students entering directly from high school. Transfer students are housed as space allows, and the waitlist usually clears by mid-July. [Housing and residence life](#) ### Click to expand accordion How do I get between campuses? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What is the weather actually like? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### Click to expand accordion What if I get seasick? Accordion content - Officiis porta iusto luctus maecenas ultricies libero quisquam commodi do sequi facilisis, accusamus aut? Sapien dignissim nascetur nesciunt phasellus eros dis cupidatat tempor egestas cillum eveniet lobortis, sunt eos tellus atque quaerat, voluptatem exercitationem voluptatibus nesciunt, eveniet in dicta quae. ### At a glance Credential awardedBS Degree levelundergraduate Program length4 years Start termsfall ## Program Lead ![Department head portrait, seminar room background — Person `person_portrait`.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Department_head_portrait_seminar_room.png.avif?itok=waNc5UnX) ### Dr. Yuki Nakamura Assistant Professor of Aquaculture ![Student services adviser portrait, reception area background — Person `person_portrait`.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Student_services_adviser_portrait_reception_area.png.avif?itok=LPmkhzJH) ### Dr. Miriam Frost Professor of Fisheries Science Related ## Other programs ![Campus green, students gathered — Landing page imagery, campus life hero.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Campus_Green_Gathering_Wide.png.avif?itok=VRJ7wyHn) BS ### Marine Biology The foundational degree in marine life, and the route into most of the graduate work that follows it. Field work starts in the first year. - 4 years - Undergraduate Starts Fall [](/program/marine-biology) ![Coastal engineering hero — wave flume laboratory test — Program imagery, coastal engineering cluster.](/sites/default/files/styles/large/public/2026-01/Coastal_Engineering_Wave_Flume_Laboratory.png.avif?itok=F5vILDiT) MS ### Marine Mammal Science A research master's in marine mammal population assessment. This is a graduate program — the route in for undergraduates is a bachelor's degree in marine biology first. - 2 years - Graduate Starts Fall [](/program/marine-mammal-science) ## Come and see the tidal flats for yourself Open days run four times a year, and the Wrightsville tour always includes the field station. [ Book an open day ](/standard-page/visit-campus) [ Contact the department ](/standard-page/contact-us)