NOAA National Sea Grant College Program’s Support of Aquaculture and Its Current Aquaculture Investment Portfolio

Abstract

The NOAA National Sea Grant College Program, through national, state, and territory-​based investments, has a long history of supporting coastal, marine, and Great Lakes aquaculture development in the United States. Since Sea Grant’s inception over 55 years ago, its support of aquaculture has focused on topics that include production methods and systems, nutrition, diseases, physiology, genetics, workforce development and training, processing, food safety, business development, economics and marketing, site selection, permitting, and stock enhancement/​restoration. To summarize Sea Grant’s history of supporting aquaculture, an expert panel was convened in 2019, resulting in the development of 17 aquaculture phylogenies. The advancement of various segments of the US aquaculture industry due to Sea Grant’s support is evident in increasing production of Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and development of recirculating aquaculture systems. Sea Grant’s investments in aquaculture have also proven to have substantial economic and scholarly impact. While most of Sea Grant’s historical support of aquaculture has been through investments made at the state and territory level, in recent years, the national Sea Grant aquaculture investment portfolio has been expanded significantly, offering innovative and varied funding opportunities, while retaining the ability to be nimble and flexible.