White House to recognize Mote scientist as ‘Champion of Change’

Kevan Main, a senior scientist, serves as director of Mote's Aquaculture Research Park.

By Katie Johns
| 3:30 p.m. October 5, 2016

Dr. Kevan Main, senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory. Photo courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory

Longboat Key
News

On Friday Oct. 7 twelve people from all around the U.S. are going to be recognized as “White House Champions of Change for Sustainable Seafood.” One of the 12 is Kevan Main, a senior scientist at Mote Marine Laboratory.

Main serves as the director of the Mote Aquaculture Research Park and is the past president and current member of the World Aquaculture Society. She has led Mote’s aquaculture research since 2001. Some of those efforts include guiding the development of Mote’s inland, recirculating aquaculture systems that raise marine fish while recycling 100% of the salt water and using fish wastes to fertilize salt-loving plants, a statement from Mote said.

Senior scientist, Dr. Kevan Main participates in a coastal restoration effort in Sarasota County using some of the plants grown in sustainable aquaponics systems at the nearby Mote Aquaculture Research Park. Photo courtesy of Mote Marine Laboratory

For the last 15 years, Main and her Mote team have conducted research to develop sustainable technologies for raising red drum, Florida pompano, greater amberjack, common snook and red snapper to support enhancement of wild stocks and produce juvenile fish. Currently, Main and her team are helping translate aquaculture to the commercial sector and implementing change that will fuel an economic engine of environmentally sustainable, land-based and offshore aquaculture. This help comes in handy as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a new rule implementing the Fishery Management plan for Aquaculture in Federal Waters of the Gulf of Mexico in January 2016.

A statement from the White House, Office of the Press Secretary said that local leaders serve as the backbones of communities and work to build resilient coasts and protect at-risk towns whose futures depend on the recovery of the country’s fisheries. The statement later said that the Champions of Change are ensuring that the U.S. is a global leader in sustainable seafood management.

Main has more than 30 years of experience in aquaculture under her belt. Before she joined Mote, Main worked in the American Pacific Islands and Asia to expand the U.S. Aquaculture industry. She was the first director of the U.S. Department of Agriculture regional aquaculture center in Hawaii and has published seven books throughout her career. In February 2016 she was honored with the Fellow of the World Aquaculture Society Award, Mote’s statement said.