Oyster shells laid out for a 2016 planting at an oyster restoration sanctuary.
Maryland DNR photo
The National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), part of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), has awarded $1.7 million in funding to six projects focused on aquaculture development.
The Special Research Grants for Aquaculture Research program aims to develop an environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture industry in the United States through new knowledge and science-based technology.
The projects selected through this initiative will help improve the profitability of the aquaculture industry, increase national food security, expand markets for domestically produced products, and create more jobs in rural and coastal areas of the country.
According to the USDA, the U.S. seafood trade deficit currently amounts to $17 billion. For this reason, the agency encourages research to develop practical solutions that facilitate growth.
Among the awarded projects are A Pilot Project To Increase Profitability In Oyster Aquaculture, led by the University of Maryland; a study on EEG in catfish stunning for commercial use by Mississippi State University; and an evaluation of bay scallops for aquaculture in the Northeast conducted by The Research Foundation for the State University of New York.
The USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS) released the 2023 Census of Aquaculture in January, highlighting that the United States aquaculture industry reached $1.9 billion in total sales for 2023, representing a 26% increase since the last census in 2018.
