MIT Sea Grant Awarded Two Aquaculture Grants from NOAA Sea Grant
NOAA Sea Grant to invest $8.8 million to enhance aquaculture production, capacity and knowledge sharing
August 13, 2024 – Hallee Meltzer, National Sea Grant Office
To further support sustainable U.S. aquaculture, NOAA Sea Grant selected 33 projects totaling $8,821,710 in fiscal year 2024 federal funding. The projects will span coastal and Great Lakes states and territories with a focus on enhancing aquaculture species production, boosting aquaculture literacy and knowledge sharing, and strengthening aquaculture research and extension capacity.
“Supporting sustainable, domestic seafood production, through aquaculture, is a key component to a thriving, blue economy across the U.S.,” said Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. “Sea Grant will continue to work alongside communities to gather and share aquaculture-related knowledge that helps the industry and the environment.”
The areas of strategic investment and project details are described below. Grant recipients must match 50% of the awarded federal funding with non-federal funds.
>>Read the full National Sea Grant story
Aquaculture technologies and education travel grants
- AquaCulture Shock: International Internships for Aquaculture Knowledge Exchange
PIs: Michael Triantafyllou, Lily Keyes, and Danny Badger
Grant Amount: $26,000
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Sea Grant was selected to receive an aquaculture technologies and education travel grant for $26,000. In partnership with MIT International Science and Technology Initiatives, MIT Sea Grant will recruit and support an MIT student to complete a 10-week aquaculture-focused internship with SINTEF Ocean, a research organization in Norway. The intern will learn about offshore aquaculture systems and technologies for farming Atlantic salmon, of which Norway is the world’s largest producer. MIT Sea Grant will also conduct outreach to share the innovative aquaculture systems and technologies from Norway with diverse audiences.
Enhancing production of aquaculture species
Five projects based in Alabama, Florida, North Carolina and Oregon were selected for a total of $1,768,821 in funding to develop and refine methods, protocols, techniques and strategies to enhance the production of one or more life stages of aquaculture species. The funded research will specifically answer questions related to oysters, hard clams, macroalgae, striped bass and red seaweed. The overall goal of these projects is to improve the efficiency, output and profitability of commercial aquaculture businesses.
Regional aquaculture communications and literacy collaboratives
Three regional projects in the Great Lakes, the Southeast and the West Coast (including Alaska and the Pacific Islands) were selected for a total of $2,249,884 in funding to create regional aquaculture communications and literacy collaboratives. The projects are multi-Sea Grant program efforts to address aquaculture communications and literacy needs that will benefit the aquaculture community, seafood consumers and the general public.
Aquaculture supplemental funding
Sea Grant selected 24 projects for a total of $4,777,005 in funding to support and improve aquaculture capacity at Sea Grant programs. Projects will focus on local and regional priorities, including aquaculture research, extension, education and communication activities, and they will support new and existing staff to expand aquaculture-related activities. Learn more about these projects below.
- MIT Sea Grant Aquaculture Supplemental
PIs: Michael Triantafyllou, Andrew Bennett, and Danny Badger
Grant Amount: $399,999
MIT Sea Grant will continue a previous project that brings engineering students together with aquaculture practitioners to solve challenges with robotic and autonomous physical intervention, such as oyster basket management and oyster nursery processes, similar activities with the scallop aquaculture industry and general autonomous aquaculture environmental monitoring.
Sea Grant is committed to supporting aquaculture development nationwide to enhance economic resilience and nutritional security in American communities. In 2024, Sea Grant developed a five-year (2024-2028) Aquaculture Investment Plan to guide its efforts in supporting aquaculture research, extension and education. This plan is consistent with Sea Grant’s Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture focus area and the Sea Grant Network’s 10-year Aquaculture Vision, both of which support NOAA and Department of Commerce aquaculture goals.
