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Using Rutgers University brood stock, the hatchery was able to have eight spawns this year, and is on its way to success in benefitting local aquaculturists in the state of Delaware.
Lewes oyster hatchery has successful growing season
On the Edge
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Shellfishermen and scientists have spent years battling a disease that nearly wiped out the native oyster population. At last, there are signs of a possible way forward.
Photo by RANDI BAIRD
The Baby Oyster Bottleneck
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One East Coast collaboration, the Regional Shellfish Seed Biosecurity Program , is attempting to make interstate business easier for hatcheries and growers. “In a nutshell, we want to have a hatchery’s health record for three years, and see a clean bill of health for three years, before the hatchery becomes certified,” explains Lucia Safi, a postdoctoral researcher associated with Rutgers University and the Regional Shellfish Seed Biosecurity Program. “The hatchery will make an application for each product that they want to have certified. We do all this research and certified best management practices to minimize disease. In the long run, this will save a lot of time and money.”
Oyster shell scarcity puts the aquaculture industry between a rock and a hard place
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In some parts of the East Coast, specially constructed blocks of concrete that mimic the surface area of an oyster reef are used for oyster settlement along the shoreline. This concrete must be designed to break down, however. Asking concrete manufacturers to make a product designed to break down may seem counterintuitive, explains Dave Bushek, director of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory at Rutgers University.
Enlisting One of Nature’s Ecosystem Engineers to Assist with Coastal Defense
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Rutgers University is leading an 18-month DARPA project during its first phase, with options that could extend out to a total of five years.
Rutgers-led Project Successfully Conducts Testing of Shellfish Reef Structure Designed to Promote Coastal Resilience
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The Rutgers-led Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project—awarded $12.6 million last fall to develop an artificial reef ecosystem to help project coastlines from storm damage, flooding and erosion—recently conducted laboratory testing of modular oyster reef-mimicking structures for eventual installation in the Gulf Coast.
Courtesy of Dave Bushek.
Rutgers Students Work to Bring Wind Energy to New Jersey
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This September, Gov. Phil Murphy signed an order to increase New Jersey’s offshore wind goal to nearly 50 percent by 2040.
A group of 12 Rutgers students, including Sophia Piper (HSRL), is hard at work to help the state meet that deadline.
New Report Paves Way for a Northeast Fisheries and Offshore Wind Science Agenda
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A final peer-reviewed report synthesizing the current state of science on the interactions between fisheries and offshore wind is now available online.
Inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium
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The inaugural Rutgers Shellfish Research Symposium, in partnership with the New Jersey Aquaculture Association and the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory, was held on January 18 at the NJAES Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve.
Offshore wind farms threaten New Jersey’s shellfish industry.
Should fishing communities be compensated?
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Scallops and clams are likely to get more expensive to harvest off New Jersey, as commercial fishing vessels will soon have to compete for ocean space against offshore wind energy companies.
