ducation is a vital component of our mission. As future stewards and leaders of tomorrow's economy, it's important for Hawaii's youth to gain an appreciation for and an understanding of our marine environment. Exposure to marine science and aquaculture at an early age arouses inquisitiveness and stimulates youthful intellect in mathematics, science, and technology. Our education workshops and seminars do that in an interesting and informative format.

One way we achieve that is by integrating practical aquaculture in educational workshops to provide real-life meaning to academics. In these living laboratories, students make observations and record and analyze data as part of a meaningful "birth-to-market" aquaculture experience.

OI's courses emphasize the need for sustaining and protecting the complex and fragile marine environment. Students consider the difficult choices involved in ocean resource management by weighing conflicting demands for limited resources. They address the dilemma of increasing food supplies while simultaneously conserving resources. Students examine and debate critical current issues such as the importance of biodiversity to the coastal zone, implication of genetics research for marine biotechnology, depletion and degradation of coastal marine resources, control of aquaculture effluents, the role of fish meals and fish oils in agricultural feeds, and increasing global food demands.

The completion of the new Information Technology and Training Facility at Makapuu in the near future will allow OI to greatly expand our education services to include adult seminars, summer workshops for students, and lessons in marine science that are tightly integrated with regular intermediate and high school courses. We're excited, and can hardly wait for its completion.