The Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center (TCMAC) is a 25 million dollar advanced research center and innovation hub within the School of Ocean Science and Engineering at the University of Southern Mississippi. The Center is centrally located in Ocean Springs, Mississippi with direct access to the northern Gulf of Mexico. The mission of the Center is to drive aquaculture innovation by alleviating the bottlenecks that constrain the production of marine species.
Facilities consist of 9300m2 in 13 buildings including 4600m2 of culture space for animals a nd live feeds and 930m2 of experimental space designed to accommodate replicated studies in isolated and biosecure small-, medium-, and large-scale systems with single-pass climate control.
TCMAC has broodstock, hatchery, nursery and growout facilities that employ artificial seawater and recirculating aquaculture systems to produce marine species including finfish, crustaceans, molluscan shellfish, and algae . The Center focuses on advancing development and research programs dedicated to aquatic health, genetics, larviculture, reproductive physiology, nutrition/ live feeds, recirculating aquaculture system design, technology, site assessment, business planning, offshore and nearshore aquaculture. TCMAC also functions as a demonstration center to provide training and technical assistance to industry .
TCMAC supports industry, academic institutions, government agencies, and non -governmental entities in the advancement of technologies for sustainable marine aquaculture on land and in coastal and marine environments . The Center offers multiple avenues for partnerships, including s pace and equipment leases, support laboratories, services and research contracts and is committed to establishing mutually beneficial partnerships