By DOUG GRAVES
Ohio Correspondent

NEW BREMEN, Ohio — Bart Maurer wants to work in aquaculture when he graduates from Hocking College in Ohio. For this reason Maurer, 23, is heading to Israel to learn the finer points of the business.

“The Israelis are so technologically advanced in aquaculture that I want to learn their system,” said Maurer, a resident of New Bremen, Ohio.

The Cleveland-based Ohio-Israel Agricultural Initiative of The Negev Foundation is sponsoring a three-month agricultural student exchange program that will place Maurer on an Israeli Kibbutz in northern Israel to study the region’s exemplary fish farming.

Maurer, who is majoring in Fish Management and Aquaculture, will spend the summer at Kibbutz Reshafim, in the Bet She’an valley, working at the Kibbutz fishery. During his Kibbutz stay, Maurer will work with various species of fish, learning advanced aquaculture while getting academic credit for his participation in the program.
Maurer will experience life in Israel firsthand, and will be given time to travel and explore the country before returning to Ohio.

“I’ve worked on a farm since I was 13,” Maurer said. “And I’m a huge fisherman. Fish simply amaze me. I’m anxious to study their recirculation system that takes purchased water and distributes it over various ponds.”

In 2002, The Negev Foundation, working with government, academic and business entities and growers in both regions, launched an effort to improve agricultural ties between Ohio and Israel. This effort culminated in establishing The Ohio-Israel Agricultural Initiative of The Negev Foundation.

This effort has allowed both countries to identify agribusiness ventures based on new technologies, expand commercial ties and much more.

The objective is to benefit Israel and Ohio through export of research and development products and enhancing market opportunities.

“We expect the trip to be personally, as well as professionally, rewarding for Bart, as the knowledge he will gain should give him an experiential advantage that will help him become a better fisheries professional in the long run” said Dr. Lloyd Wright, professor of aquaculture at Hocking College.

According to Dr. Sarah Horowitz, Program Director for the Ohio-Israel Agricultural Initiative, the student exchange program is one of many projects designed to enhance agricultural ties between Ohio and Israel.

“This endeavor will give Bart the opportunity to study aquaculture techniques in Israel, a country that is recognized as one of the foremost leaders in this field, and to share what he has learned at Hocking College with his Israeli colleagues,” Horowitz said.

Based on the success of the Ohio-Israel aquaculture student exchange program, the Initiative hopes to expand the program to include other agricultural fields.