The College of Aquatic Sciences and Applied Technology traces its roots to the Pias-Gaang Community High School which became the Currimao School of Fisheries in 1971 by virtue of Republic Act No. 4282. In the following year, a 2 ½ year course, Associate in Fishery Education, was offered in addition to the secondary curriculum.

On June 16, 1976, the late former President Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Presidential Decree No. 945 integrating the School of Fisheries, together with the Dingras National Agricultural School in Dingras, Ilocos Norte, and the Ilocos Norte School of Craftsmen (INSC) in Paoay, Ilocos Norte to the Mariano Marcos Memorial State College of Science and Technology (MMMCST) to attain unification of programs and policies for regional development. The school began to offer the four-year Bachelor of Science in Fisheries, with inland fisheries, marine fisheries, and fish processing as major fields of specialization.

A year-and-a-half later, on January 6, 1978, the MMMCST and the Northern Luzon State College in Laoag City were merged to become the Mariano Marcos State University by virtue of Presidential Decree No. 1279. From 1978 onwards, the school has metamorphosed into a lead institution in fisheries, particularly in Northern Luzon.

With the growing concern for suitable development and rational utilization, management, and conservation of fisheries and aquatic resources, the college offered in June 1998 the four-year Bachelor of Science in Marine Biology.