World Aquaculture December 2019

18 DECEMBER 2019 • WORLD AQUACULTURE • WWW.WA S.ORG hubs). Thirteen companies with globally impacting technologies were selected for the first cohort and are eligible for follow-on funding as part of the program. The Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center (PACRC) of the University of Hawaiʻi Hilo (UHH) on the east side of Hawaiʻi Island was developed from a rehabilitated wastewater treatment facility and has some of the largest tanks in the State. It is a Center of Excellence for Sustainable Aquaculture in partnership with the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program. Its two sites include a 9-acre location on Hilo Bay for marine aquaculture (Fig. 3) and a smaller inland facility for freshwater aquaculture. The PACRC hosts three hatcheries (two for marine fish and one for bivalves), resources for seaweed, corals and a wide variety of research and training efforts. It is widely used by academic, public- and private-sector partners and has an active international technical assistance program. UHH offers the only four-year program for aquaculture in the State as a specialization in its Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. The University of Hawaiʻi System has three other facilities used for aquaculture and related topics. The Hawaiʻi Institute of Marine Biology (HIMB) is located on Coconut Island near Kāneʻohe. Among the many important recent contributions is the development of temperature- resistant corals by the late Dr. Ruth Gates. Other HIMB researchers continue to make research contributions related to the biology and ecology of aquaculture species. The Waikiki Aquarium is also an important generator of information on aquaculture species and has a long history of training individuals, many of whom became active in research and commercial farming. The College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) is currently developing an on- campus facility, the Tuahine Aquaculture Research and Education Center (TAREC) at UHMānoa that will provide resources for research, extension and education. CTAHR is the designated Land Grant entity in Hawaiʻi and hosts cutting-edge fundamental and applied research projects employing tilapia as a model organism. Undergraduate and graduate students are exposed to aquaculture research through graduate programs in Animal Sciences and Nutritional Research, access to state- of-the-art laboratories and approaches and a range of local and international collaboration opportunities. Projects include studies on environmental physiology, growth, osmoregulation, endocrinology, toxicology, nutrition, stress response, genetics, feeds development and aquaponics. The University of Hawaii Animal Diagnostic Laboratory (UHADL) was created to perform disease testing to meet the needs of exporters of live aquacultured animals. Currently, the laboratory is in the process of obtaining USDA approval. With a projected start-up date in 2020, the new testing capability will greatly facility the export of SPF/SPR shrimp, shellfish seed and other products. Oceanic Institute of Hawaiʻi Pacific University (OI) is one of the best-known aquaculture research and training facilities in the world given its role in supporting aquaculture development on the international stage (Fig. 4). Founded in 1962, many of the most innovative breakthrough efforts in aquaculture were started there, including development of SPF shrimp broodstock, which drastically changed the species choice of shrimp production in Asia and fostered FIGURE 3. The Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center, University of Hawaiʻi Hilo, located in Keaukaha, Hilo. The Center is based at a rehabilitated wastewater treatment plant. Photo: University of Hawaiʻi. FIGURE 4. Oceanic Institute of Hawai‘i Pacific University covering 56 acres in Waimanalo, Hawaiʻi with the Ko’olau Mountains in the background. Sea Life Park, a public exhibit featuring local marine life, is located on the left side of the photo. Photo: Oceanic Institute. FIGURE 5. The Anuenue Fisheries Research Center (AFRC) on Sand Island, Honolulu. Shown here is Wally Ito with tanks of native species of seaweed. Photo: Wally Ito.