La Jolla High School Students Release White Sea Bass into Mission Bay

Scientists from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and  students released cultured white sea bass into Mission Bay as part of a program to restore depleted fish stocks last week. The students have been raising the juvenile white sea bass in their classroom since December 2011 though an in-classroom activity called Seabass in the Classroom.

In partnership with several organizations, the Seabass in the Classroom program teaches students about aquaculture and stock enhancement by growing the fish for release into the ocean. 

The program helps them not only gain a better understanding of where their food comes from but it also addresses all related aspects associated with sustainability including the health of the oceans, California agriculture, food production technology and the health benefits of eating seafood, Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute said. 

“My students have maintained a high level of interest in our white sea bass mariculture system. Having the opportunity to provide hands on opportunities for learning is great,” Dave James, science teacher at La Jolla High School, said in an announcement. “The ability to use this system for laboratory activities, field research, data collection and analysis necessary for actually raising white sea bass for release into the wild is unique and extremely valuable. They are learning information that is not found in their textbooks and they get to interact with and ask questions of scientists who come into their classroom.”

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