World Aquacluture Magazine - September 2020

WWW.WA S.ORG • WORLD AQUACULTURE • SEP TEMBER 2020 63 ( C O N T I N U E D O N P A G E 6 1 ) on nets (Crissol 2013). After its prohibition there have been several protest rallies led by fishermen demanding a solution because many of themworked on trolling fishing ships that have had their fishing licenses revoked by this Constitutional Court ruling and this is an ongoing situation. Aside from fishing, culti- vation of pineapple and banana are the strongest productive ac- tivities in Limón (Blanco 2015). However, most of the wealth in Limón comes fromMoin Con- tainer Terminal (TCM) and the job opportunities it provides. In the past, the administration of the TCMwas in charge of the Port Administration and Economic Development of the Caribbean Slope Board (JAP- DEVA). But the lack of results and the need for an upgrade to TCM gave way to a public con- cession to an international com- pany. This company invested US$1 billion in the TCM so it could receive large New Pana- max ships for the first time in Costa Rica’s history and reduce the offloading time of ships by more than 25 h (Arrieta 2019). Since the opening of the re- newed TCM, some companies closed down their operations in Limon and JAPDEVA has lost its purpose. Limon is the province with the highest unemployment rate in the country, raising concern in the population and an increasing discomfort with the government administration (Morris 2019). Given the economic and social issues in Puntarenas and Limón, the importance of turning to aquaculture is evident. This is consistent with the government’s recent release of a strategic plan for aquaculture in Costa Rica. The plan clearly states that the government is interested in promoting aquaculture so that it can become a relevant economic activity (INCOPESCA 2019). The goal of the project described in this article was to teach communities with difficult socioeconomic situations in Limón and Puntarenas how to use their land and water to develop sustainable aquaculture projects and how to give added value to their products. Aquaculture Training Two separate trainings were organized in the seven months be- tween February and September 2019. The first took place in Costa de Pájaros, Puntarenas, with fishermen from surrounding communities over a four-month period, twice weekly in eight-hour sessions. The second took place in Guá- piles with farmers from differ- ent regions of Limón. It was a three-month training, twice weekly in eight-hour sessions. The training curriculumwas designed by aquaculture experts from the Universidad Técnica Nacional de Costa Rica (UTN) and funds were provided by the Ministry of Labor (MTSS) and Colegio Universitario de Limón. The MTSS granted scholarships to each trainee so they could afford the training. During the training, several topics were presented by different experts (Table 1). Sessions were adjusted to the education level of the target audience. Aside from basic topics taught by experts, senior aquaculture engineering students fromUTN shared information about topics such as the impact of aquaculture on the environment, invasive species related to aquaculture, aquaponic principles and basic principles of amazonic species culture and bioremediation related to the culture of aquatic species. Finally, there were field trips designed to complement topics covered in the training. To make sessions more dy- namic, there was teamwork and review activities, with little re- wards at the end of each session. This methodology ensured the atten- tion of trainees and proved to be a valuable teaching strategy through the training. Deterding et al. (2011) defined gamification as “the use of game design elements in non-game contexts.” Gamification affects three major areas —cognitive, emotional and social —and can be used in educational contexts. The use of game-based teaching activi- ties was a key to the learning process throughout the trainings, along with teamwork as students worked in groups of four or five (Fig. 1), contending in different activities designed to review the attained knowledge of the trainees, at the end of every session. Besides the use of game-based activities, the training included field activities to review theoretical concepts. Applying concepts helped trainees to manipulate and use technical aquaculture equipment such as multi-parameter meters, salinity refractometers and colorimetric tests to determine water quality and the potential of water bodies for aquaculture (Fig. 2). The proper use of this equipment TABLE 1. List of topics covered in the training and time used per topic. Topic Number of hours Aquaculture principles 16 Freshwater fish culture 8 Basic principles of culture systems 8 Aquatic invertebrates 8 Crustacean culture 16 Water quality for aquaculture 16 Mollusk culture 16 Common diseases in aquatic culture species 8 Marine culture systems 6 Field trip 32 Food processing techniques for aquatic products 64 Total 198 FIGURE 2. Farmers using technical aquaculture equipment to determinate water quality in earth ponds at the Experimental Facility of INCOPESCA “Los Dimantes,” Guápiles, Limón, Costa Rica.