Background
Aquaculture is one of the fastest-growing food production sectors globally and plays a critical role in supporting food security, sustainable resource use, and coastal economies. Despite its importance, aquaculture remains underrepresented in formal education and is often poorly understood by the public. Addressing this disconnect requires innovative communication approaches that translate aquaculture science into accessible, engaging, and relevant learning experiences.
The Aquaculture Remote Classroom (ARC) is a stateoftheart, mobile and expandable classroom positioned on a customdesigned truck. It was developed by Bord Iascaigh Mhara (BIM); The Irish Seafood Development Agency, and co-funded by the Irish Government and the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF). The unit addresses this need by positioning aquaculture at the centre of a dynamic, mobile education and outreach model.
It manifests itself as a pioneering pathway to ocean literacy. It demonstrates this through the combination of mobility, immersive technology, and curriculumaligned presentations. Use of the ARC supports the current European ambition to encourage a more oceanliterate society and a resilient blue economy. https://bim.ie/a-seafood-way-of-life/the-arc/
The ARC is highly adaptable, extending beyond schools to engage different audiences through university visits, science festivals, public events and online resources.
Highquality learning tools are used on the ARC such as:
1. Building block activities: demonstrating aquaculture's socio-economic importance
2. Proactive mapping exercises: outlining the best location to farm certain fish species
3.End of day buzzer style quiz - this re-enforces what was taught throughout the workshop.
4. VR Headsets which pupils use to dive beneath the waves and experience aquaculture production up close
These resources have shown themselves to be effective tools that encourage student participation. This setup fosters an action-orientated and collaborative environment allowing students to deeply engage with the learning material provided to them. Take for example, the virtual reality experience which enables ARC users to "dive" beneath the surface, observe aquaculture operations, and explore marine habitats in ways not possible in traditional classrooms.
By offering full-day workshops free of charge and travelling directly to schools across Ireland, the ARC removes traditional barriers to marine education and social licence, ensuring equitable access for rural, coastal, and inland communities alike.
It's content is aligned with the Irish primary school curriculum, supporting teachers in delivering top standard marine and sustainability education from three marine biologists without requiring specialised resources or training.
Impact
In 2025, the ARC engaged 8,290 participants. The unit visited 55 primary schools and 4 secondary schools delivering 112 workshops to 3,837 pupils. 800 ARC participants joined the ARC virtually through an online webinar, which is a condensed version of the workshop deliverable to schools during time periods when the ARC is off the road.
The remaining visitors are made up of members of the public through science festivals, university outreach events, careers fairs, and national marinethemed celebrations. The ARC experience at these events (non-school days) have included shorter handson demonstrations, interactive digital content, and facilitated discussions with aquaculture and food sector professionals.
Collaboration is another key feature of the ARC model. Engagement with marine organisations, industry representatives, educators, and international observers demonstrates its relevance beyond Ireland and its potential as a transferable model for aquaculture communication.
The ARC aligns with national and European policy objectives, including Ireland's strategic priorities for sustainable aquaculture development and broader EU ambitions to build an ocean literate society and resilient blue economy.
By merging marine education, informal outreach, and industry engagement, the ARC showcases a powerful pathway for cultivating an oceanliterate society, building aquaculture social licence and encouraging sustainable coastal futures across Europe.
Acknowledgment
The project is funded by EMFAF / European Maritime Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.