In Washington, D.C., the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture announced four grants totaling $1.2 million to support the development of environmentally and economically sustainable aquaculture in the United States. The Aquaculture Research Program, administered by NIFA, awarded the grants to Michigan State University, Virginia Tech, Auburn University and The Research Foundation of State University of New York for research ranging from genetic modeling and disease prevention to economic comparisons of pond and recirculating-water commercial business models.
Global demand for seafood is projected to increase substantially while harvests from capture fisheries are stable or declining. “In 2015, Americans spent $96 billion on seafood, but only a small portion of that was produced by U.S. aquaculture,” said NIFA Director Sonny Ramaswamy. “To meet the growing demand for this healthy source of protein, NIFA investments are helping enhance U.S. aquaculture production to promote both economic opportunities and a safe, reliable domestic seafood source.”