Aquaculture Benefits
Shellfish, including mussels, clams and scallops, provide environmental benefits, including filtering water and increasing biodiversity. This research seeks to understand shellfish genetics and breeding to help researchers increase production and improve water quality.
Raising shellfish eggs and larvae is not well understood and yet critical for aquaculture production. Many biological and environmental factors influence egg quality and time of spawning. Similarly, larvae survival is another challenge. This research aims to better understand the early life-cycle stages to ensure a robust supply of eggs and larvae for commercial stocking.
Investing is the production of new species is risky without a comprehensive assessment of potential costs, market demand, yields and other factors that influence commercial feasibility. The lack of comprehensive financial assessments is a current barrier to US aquaculture production. This research funds socio-economic and market-based research for new species and production systems.