The projects will span coastal and Great Lakes states and territories with a focus on enhancing aquaculture species production, boosting aquaculture literacy and knowledge sharing, and strengthening aquaculture research and extension capacity.
Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative: Advancing aquaculture literacy
Principal Investigators: Amy Schrank, Donald Schreiner, Marie Thoms and Kieran Smith, Minnesota Sea Grant; Stuart Carlton, Kwamena Quagrainie and Amy Shambach, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant; John Brawley, Lake Champlain Sea Grant; Lauren Jescovitch and Elliot Nelson, Michigan Sea Grant; Stephanie Otts, National Sea Grant Law Center; Barry Udelson, New York Sea Grant; Nicole Wright, Ohio Sea Grant; Titus Seilheimer and Sharon Moen, Wisconsin Sea Grant
Grant Amount: $750,000
One of three regional projects, the multi-Sea Grant program will address aquaculture communications and literacy needs that will benefit the aquaculture community, seafood consumers and the general public.
This work will build on the successes of the Great Lakes Aquaculture Collaborative (GLAC). The team will expand their state-based advisory groups, maintain and enhance productivity as a collaborative, and use the GLAC website as a source for accessible and innovative information.
Outreach activities will aim to increase aquaculture literacy of consumers, youth audiences, regulators and legislators.
GLAC will also co-create a Great Lakes seafood brand that can be used to market all locally produced, farmed and wild-caught seafood.
An important theme throughout this project is that the aquaculture and commercial fishing industries are intertwined and that both are important to the Great Lakes food system.
Additionally, the proposal activities will intentionally focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and will include tribal organizations and schools that serve historically marginalized communities.
Aquaculture Supplemental Funding
Sea Grant will also provide Aquaculture Supplemental Funding for new and existing staff to support aquaculture-related activities in the Great Lakes region.
MICHIGAN SEA GRANT
Principal Investigators: Silvia Newell Grant Amount: $30,000
Michigan Sea Grant will support graduate student research to determine the susceptibility of invasive Asian Carp species to two emerging viral infections that are co-circulating in Michigan in connection to carp aquaculture, which will guide wildlife management agencies about the design of adequate containment strategies.
MINNESOTA SEA GRANT
Principal Investigators: Amy Schrank, Donald Schreiner and Kieran Smith Grant Amount: $69,088
Minnesota Sea Grant will continue investigating a cost-effective diet for early stages of Yellow Perch and Golden Shiner, initiate a feasibility study for commercial aquaculture production of Golden Shiner and collaborate with Little Earth of United Tribes on outreach and youth workforce development for their aquaponics facility.
NEW YORK SEA GRANT
Principal Investigators: Michael Ciaramella and Barry Udelson Grant Amount: $239,896
New York Sea Grant will further support and provide guidance to the developing aquaculture industry in New York State by bringing together the diverse sectors in the Great Lakes (land-based finfish farms) and Long Island (shellfish and seaweed cultivation) regions and improving areas of need identified through industry assessment.
WISCONSIN SEA GRANT
Principal Investigators: Sharon Moen Grant Amount: $128,922
Wisconsin Sea Grant will sustain the reach and impacts of the Eat Wisconsin Fish initiative, revise the Consumer's Guide to Wisconsin's Farm-Raised Fish, and organize and facilitate an aquaculture workshop and listening session in Madison, WI.
Aquaculture includes the breeding, rearing, and harvesting of fish, shellfish, algae, and other aquatic organisms in natural and human constructed water environments.
Aquaculture operations in the Great Lakes region produce a variety of fish. Cultivated species are selected based on factors such as economic value, adaptability to local conditions, and market demand.
Common fish species produced by aquaculture in the Great Lakes include:
Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss)
A popular species for both commercial and recreational purposes.
Yellow Perch (Perca flavescens)
A native species highly valued for its taste and texture.
Walleye (Sander vitreus)
Another native species popular in both commercial and recreational fisheries.
Lake Whitefish (Coregonus clupeaformis)
A species native to the Great Lakes, known for its mild flavor.
