$3.5M in NOAA funds to boost aquaculture

An assortment of project proposals aimed at addressing ongoing and long-term impacts associated with the COVID-19 pandemic on seafood resources shared $2.9 million in funding from NOAA Sea Grant.

From workforce development trainings to establishing nursery protocols for marine finfish to increasing the resilience of oyster farms to disasters, the 13 projects selected from a national competition aim to improve sustainable aquaculture and enable the sector  to respond to future disruptions.

The grant recipients across the United States will match 50 percent of their funding with non-federal funds.

NOAA Sea Grant also awarded Maryland Sea Grant $600,000 over four years to coordinate the marine aquaculture development efforts of Sea Grant, NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and other stakeholders. A new position called National Aquaculture Extension Coordinator was created for this purpose. Jim LaChance, who joined Maryland Sea Grant in March 2021 as Aquaculture Projects Coordinator, will take on the newly created role and become the central point of contact for the aforementioned agencies and other stakeholders.