Pictured: a computer display at a seafood processing facility. New classroom resources for students in grades 7-12 will help them learn about the seafood sector and careers in the industry.
Photo: Province of Nova Scotia
Nova Scotia is rolling out new classroom resources aimed at giving students a clearer view of the province’s seafood industry and the jobs connected to it.
The Coast to Classroom programme, announced this week by Nova Scotia Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Kent Smith, will be available across the province from autumn 2026 for students in grades 7 to 12. It is designed to help teachers link existing curriculum outcomes with lessons on coastal resources, marine ecosystems, sustainable seafood production and seafood supply chains.
“Programs like Coast to Classroom help youth explore opportunities in our seafood sector. They build skills, introduce students to career paths and deepen understanding of the important role coastal communities play in our province,” Minister Smith said.
The initiative comes as the Canadian province continues to emphasise the role of seafood in its rural and coastal communities. According to the provincial government, the sector directly employs almost 19,000 people in Nova Scotia, and the province's seafood exports were worth about CAD 2.2 billion in 2025.
Last year, the government announced the launch of a new CAD 4.71 million fund to support "big, bold projects in the agriculture and seafood sectors", and also launched a new aquaculture mapping tool to help identify the suitability of coastal areas for aquaculture development for different species.
Nova Scotia now has a new mapping tool that helps identify the suitability of coastal areas for aquaculture development.
Photo: Province of Nova Scotia / File.
Developed in co-operation with the Centre for Marine Applied Research, the resources include lesson plans, classroom activities and virtual tools. Students will be able to explore topics such as aquaculture, seafood processing, harvesting, ocean technology and how products move from the water to the market.
The materials are already being used by students taking a new course on local industries being piloted this school year at two Nova Scotia schools, Shelburne Regional High School in Shelburne and Barrington Municipal High School in Oak Park.
Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Brendan Maguire said the "Coast to Classroom" course was "connecting classroom learning to real-world experiences and helping students see the many pathways available to them right here at home,” while Labour, Skills and Immigration Minister Nolan Young said the programme would help students better understand opportunities connected to oceans and coastal industries.
“When planning the Local Industries 11 course we wanted most to pay homage to our fishers and their tremendous contribution to our communities and culture," explained the course developers, Les Goulden, a teacher at Shelburne Regional High School, and Phoebe Cameron, Vice-Principal of Barrington Municipal High School.
"We felt it necessary to have an academic course that focused on the exploration of our local lobster fishery, offering our students and community an opportunity to link local industry, socioeconomic culture and tradition to formal education. This primary industry is generational, fosters secondary and service industries, and makes educating our future marine industry workforce a top priority,” they added.
