NOAA grants support California aquaculture research

California Sea Grant has been awarded two new grants totaling $506,615 to address impediments to aquaculture opportunities, part of NOAA Sea Grant’s $11 million in federal funding to advance the development of a sustainable marine and coastal aquaculture industry in the U.S.

The grants were awarded to address specific priorities of the 2018 Sea Grant National Aquaculture Initiative including: supporting the development of emerging systems or technologies that will advance aquaculture in the U.S., developing and implementing actionable methods of communicating accurate, science-based information about the benefits and risks of U.S. marine aquaculture to the public; and increasing the resiliency of aquaculture systems to natural hazards and changing conditions.

The projects, which will be conducted over a three-year period, include a 50% match by non-federal partners. One hundred proposals were received requesting $48 million in federal grant funds: 22 projects were funded with $10,971,164 federal grant funds

California Sea Grant Projects

Development of germ cell transplantation methods for enhancing aquaculture production of migratory fishes

Stuart Meyers, University of California Davis

Ventura Shellfish Enterprise: Implementing an integrative model for new shellfish aquaculture permitting and production in federal waters proximate to Ventura, California

Paul Olin, California Sea Grant

Sea Grant’s investment in aquaculture research, outreach and education programs continues to produce results for coastal communities and their economies. Between February 2017 and January 2018, Sea Grant invested $11 million in aquaculture research, with additional funds and resources dedicated to outreach and technology transfer, and reported $78 million in economic impacts, including support of 792 businesses and 1,387 jobs.

For a full list and short descriptions of all 22 grant projects, read the NOAA Sea Grant announcement.