USDA continues to invest in aquaculture
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has announced more than $1.2 million in funding to four universities to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture.
Made possible through the Aquaculture Research Program (ARP), these projects will generate novel science-based information and innovations to address constraints that hinder the growth of the US aquaculture industry. The ARP is authorized by the 2014 Farm Bill and administered through USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA).
“Aquaculture research projects provide increased security and sustainability to a growing industry with domestic and international market value,” said NIFA Director Dr Sonny Ramaswamy. “The impacts of these projects will contribute to the 70 percent growth in the aquaculture industry that is expected in the next 30 years.”
The ARP focuses on projects that directly address major constraints to the US aquaculture industry. Projects funded in fiscal year 2015 focused on program priorities that include genetics of commercial aquaculture species; critical disease issues impacting aquaculture species; design of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture production systems; and economic research for increasing aquaculture profitability. Since 2014, this program has awarded nearly $2.5 million in funding.
Research projects from this year include measuring how the metabolic rate of fish embryos and tissues can predict the growth potential of individual fish, so that breeding programs can more efficiently and effectively select which fish should be grown to adulthood and bred in order to yield faster growing lines of fish for famers to raise. Another project assesses bacterial communities that are present in oyster hatcheries. By understanding how these communities respond to both the environment and other bacteria, hatchery managers can prevent and manage pathogenic bacteria outbreaks that can devastate oyster larvae.
The current NIFA aquaculture research and extension base is highly diverse in terms of funding mechanisms, areas of research, and species cultured. NIFA also provides leadership, on behalf of the Secretary of Agriculture, to facilitate the coordination of all federal programs in aquaculture.
