FFA begins crawfish breeding program


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  • | 7:00 a.m. June 4, 2015
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  • West Orange Times & Observer
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OCOEE — When considering opportunities for hands-on, real-world applications of learned knowledge, few subjects can match the vast possibilities of biology.

The FFA at Ocoee High School have taken an initiative to start such an application at school: crawfish farming.

“The crawfish program began after Charles Tatavitto expressed interest in developing our aquaculture program,” said Peter Jordan, the overseer of Ocoee High School’s sustainable agriculture program. “Charles has several aquariums at home. If students express interest in learning, I do my best to develop that desire to learn. I use the topic to guide them. I gave Charles the go-ahead to develop crawfish farming, with some stipulations: research, lab journals, presentation on the life and habits of crawfish, etc.”

Jordan, who has expressed fondness for these “mud bugs,” said this project could be a potential business opportunity, in addition to a definite learning opportunity.

“The great thing about career and technical education is that it puts the education in the hands of the student,” Jordan said. “Hands-on learning sticks with the student; it becomes experience.”

Tatavitto, a freshman, has recruited fellow freshman Matthew Epps, junior Melvin Poe and senior Kenneth Henderson to help with the crawfish-breeding program and learn more about breeding them.

“So far, they have had three pregnant crawfish that had to be moved to another tank to lay eggs,” said Brooke Duncan, an officer with the Ocoee High School FFA. “This provides a safe environment for the pregnant crawfish to have the babies within two weeks.”

The students involved in this program have started to gather materials to convert a hydroponic system into a small crawfish farm in the school’s greenhouse, Jordan said.

“The students bought 50 brown crawfish from a local store,” Jordan said. “At least one of the crawfish had eggs with it. The students separated the pregnant crawfish and created a nursery in an individual aquarium. About a week later, the crawfish hatched, and we now have about a dozen more crawfish. The students are learning biological processes while exploring the business potential and protein potential for a sustainable planet.”

In recent days, they have dismantled the greenhouse production of crawfish, because the students were struggling with group dynamics and finishing their research, but this project still has helped them to learn leadership, problem-solving, critical thinking, teamwork, creative thinking and some basic business ideas, Jordan said.

“We still have individual aquarium breeding and plan to move forward as we build the crawfish population,” he said. “Hopefully, we plan to get the greenhouse project back on track.”

Contact Zak Kerr at zkerr@wotimes.com.

 

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