2014 – 2015
Florida Department of Education
Curriculum Framework 

Program Title:	Tropical Ornamental Mariculture Technician
Career Cluster:	Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources

CCC	
CIP Number	0103060102	
Program Type	College Credit Certificate (CCC)	
Program Length	30 credit hours	
CTSO	Collegiate FFA	
SOC Codes (all applicable) 	45-2093 - Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals	
Targeted Occupation List	http://www.labormarketinfo.com/wec/TargetOccupationList.htm	
Perkins Technical Skill Attainment Inventory	http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/perkins/perkins_resources.asp 	
Statewide Articulation	http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp 	

Purpose

This certificate program is part of the Marine Environmental Technology AS degree program (1103060100).  

A College Credit Certificate consists of a program of instruction of less than sixty (60) credits of college-level courses, which is part of an AS or AAS degree program and prepares students for entry into employment (Rule 6A-14.030, F.A.C.).

This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of the Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources career cluster. 

The content includes but is not limited to instruction in tropical marine ornamental finfish and invertebrate husbandry, disease and parasite diagnostics and prevention, nutrition of marine aquaculture organisms, aquaculture best management practices, marine aquaculture systems and design, as well as an internship at a tropical marine aquaculture facility. 

Additional Information relevant to this Career and Technical Education (CTE) program is provided at the end of this document.
Standards

After successfully completing this program, the student will be able to perform the following:

01.0	Compose scientific and/or technical reports.
02.0	Demonstrate an understanding of marine ecosystems, environmental management, and resource conservation.
03.0	Comprehension of fundamental principles governing business and entrepreneurship.
04.0	Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles of marine aquaculture.
05.0	Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of aquaculture best management practices.
06.0	Identify and diagnose common diseases and parasites that infect marine aquaculture organisms. 
07.0	Demonstrate a moderate understanding of marine aquaculture systems.
08.0	Recognize appropriate nutritional requirements for the most common marine aquaculture organisms.
09.0	Demonstrate a basic understanding of marine aquaculture husbandry principles and practices.

2014 – 2015
Florida Department of Education
Student Performance Standards

Program Title:	Tropical Ornamental Mariculture Technician
CIP Number:	0103060102
Program Length:	30 credit hours
SOC Code(s):		45-2093

This certificate program is part of the Marine Environmental Technology AS degree program (1103060100).  At the completion of this program, the student will be able to:
	
01.0	Compose scientific and/or technical reports – the student will be able to:	
01.01	Explain the peer-review process of publishing a scientific article.	
01.02	Explain the function of each section of a scientific paper or technical report.	
01.03	Critically analyze a scientific paper describing its thesis, methods, results and conclusions.	
01.04	Create at least two reports formatted according to a scientific publishing format.	
02.0	Demonstrate an understanding of marine ecosystems, environmental management, and resource conservation – the student will be able to:	
02.01	Explain the essential components of ecology, and how energy flows through an ecosystem.	
02.02	Explain the functional role of primary producers in the marine environment, and identify common species of marine plants and algae.	
02.03	Explain the essential components of intertidal ecology, and how energy flows through various types of intertidal ecosystems.	
02.04	Describe the features and functional systems in the intertidal, neritic, epipelagic and deep ocean regions.	
02.05	Explain the basic functional ecology and energy flow on a coral reef.	
02.06	List the various resources humans derived from the sea and what problems this presents.	
02.07	Explain how humankind has and continues to impact the marine environment.	
02.08	Describe methods and best practices currently in use to conserve marine ecosystems including but not limited to as marine spatial planning, integrated coastal zone management and marine protected areas.	
02.09	Explain the concepts of “Tragedy of the Commons” and “Precautionary Principle” as they relate to marine ecosystem and resource conservation.	
03.0	Comprehension of fundamental principles governing business and entrepreneurship – the student will be able to:	
03.01	Demonstrate a familiarity of entrepreneurship by understanding the characteristics and mindset of entrepreneurs.	
03.02	Identify and evaluate opportunities within the marketplace, both for new venture creation and within existing organizations.	
03.03	Create the tools necessary to act on an entrepreneurial opportunity by writing a business plan, building a management team, financing the opportunity and creating an innovative marketing plan.	
03.04	Describe successful strategies and common mistakes made by successful entrepreneurs.	
03.05	Describe the legal requirements and obstacles in starting a business venture.	
04.0	Demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental principles of marine aquaculture – the student will be able to:	
04.01	Demonstrate a basic understanding of marine aquaculture husbandry principles and practices.	
04.02	Demonstrate the skills required to culture phytoplankton and zooplankton required for larval rearing.	
04.03	Describe the basic types of marine aquaculture systems.	
04.04	Describe the various types of common organisms and techniques currently used 	
04.05	Demonstrate a basic knowledge of common diseases and parasites during marine aquaculture and methods for their control.	
05.0	Demonstrate a thorough knowledge of aquaculture best management practices – the students will be able to:	
05.01	Describe the concept of aquaculture Best Management Practices.	
05.02	Compile and analyze marine aquaculture industry management data.	
05.03	Identify and demonstrate proper use of key Quality Management tools.	
05.04	Develop and implement the key components and concepts of an aquaculture management plan.	
06.0	Demonstrate a basic understanding of marine aquaculture husbandry principles and practices – the students will be able to:	
06.01	Identify the principles of water quality specific to marine aquaculture from a variety of marine taxa. 	
06.02	Demonstrate a working knowledge of variety of husbandry techniques for most of the known marine species currently being cultured, including temperature and photoperiod control conducive to spawning and species specific life styles.	
06.03	Understand basic selective breeding techniques for enhanced phenotypic traits.	
07.0	Identify and diagnose common diseases and parasites that infect marine aquaculture organisms – the students will be able to:	
07.01	Demonstrate an understanding of how the culture environment is associated with the occurrence and outbreak of disease and parasites in marine aquaculture systems. 	
07.02	Identify the differences between environmental, viral, bacterial, parasitic and fungal diseases of marine species. 	
07.03	Demonstrate a basic understanding of methodologies for treatment of diseases commonly encountered during marine aquaculture operations.  	
07.04	Demonstrate an understanding of the basic principles of marine aquatic health management and biosecurity.  	
08.0	Demonstrate a moderate understanding of marine aquaculture systems – the students will be able to:	
08.01	Describe the various types of marine aquaculture systems and demonstrate the ability to distinguish the primary components of specific marine aquaculture systems.	
08.02	Identify which systems are best for the culture and business model of the target species.	
08.03	Recognize the System requirements for Integrated Multi-Trophic Mariculture (IMTM) systems.	
08.04	Demonstrate an understanding of the impacts of specific marine aquaculture systems on the environment and especially marine ecosystems.	
08.05	Demonstrate basic skills for computer automated drafting.	

Additional Information

Laboratory Activities

Laboratory activities are an integral part of this program.  These activities include instruction in the use of safety procedures, tools, equipment, materials, and processes related to these occupations.  Equipment and supplies should be provided to enhance hands-on experiences for students.  Most onsite (i.e. FKCC) laboratory activities associated with the TOMT certificate are centered on marine aquaculture activities.  On-site laboratory facilities include:  (1) an indoor marine ornamental laboratory with a sterile seawater supply, (2) a support and disease diagnostic laboratory adjacent to the marine ornamental lab, and (3) an outdoor system with six (6) 600 gallon polyethylene tanks with filtered sea-water pumped in from the ambient waters and/or drawn from a saltwater well.

Career and Technical Student Organization (CTSO)

Collegiate FFA is the appropriate career and technical student organization for providing leadership training and reinforcing specific career and technical skills.  Career and Technical Student Organizations provide activities for students as an integral part of the instruction offered.  The activities of such organizations are defined as part of the curriculum in accordance with Rule 6A-6.065, F.A.C.

Accommodations

Federal and state legislation requires the provision of accommodations for students with disabilities as identified on the secondary student’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) or 504 plan or postsecondary student’s accommodations’ plan to meet individual needs and ensure equal access.  Postsecondary students with disabilities must self-identify, present documentation, request accommodations if needed, and develop a plan with their counselor and/or instructors.  Accommodations received in postsecondary education may differ from those received in secondary education.  Accommodations change the way the student is instructed.  Students with disabilities may need accommodations in such areas as instructional methods and materials, assignments and assessments, time demands and schedules, learning environment, assistive technology and special communication systems.  Documentation of the accommodations requested and provided should be maintained in a confidential file.

Articulation

For details on articulation agreements which correlate to programs and industry certifications refer to http://www.fldoe.org/workforce/dwdframe/artic_frame.asp.