Fisheries

Advance shellfish breeding programs to support aquaculture on the U.S. West Coast and globally. Partners will create and share genetic and genomic resources that support NOAA’s mission of advancing shellfish and aquaculture research and technology development.

Optimize production quality and economic performance of farm-reared macroalgae. R&D will be conducted through a series of testing, cultures, and growth trials. Results will lead to environmentally efficient growing techniques, and safety standards/best management practices as applied to marine macroalgae grown in intensive culturing operations.

Research the impacts of ocean conditions on Olympia oysters and Mediterranean mussels in the Puget Sound. This project will help NOAA provide more reliable, relevant, and credible information to help decision-makers and natural resource managers build sustainable fisheries, recover endangered and threatened species, maintain healthy ecosystems, and protect human health.

Collaborate on a sampling program for collecting data to support fisheries and ecological and climate change studies. The resulting data will be incorporated into the US-Poland Joint Fishery Ecology Project, shared with the Asch Fisheries Oceanography Laboratory at ECU, and be made available to the public through existing NOAA data-sharing mechanisms.

Maintain an active research program that supports the MU Marine and Environmental Biology and Policy Program, and NOAA’s James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory. Research will support fisheries management, coastal/marine habitat ecology, and conservation.