1:30 Daniel Namur, Financial Assistance Division Chief, NOAA Fisheries
PROMOTING U.S AQUACULTURE WITH DIVERSE COMMUNITY FOCUSED GRANTS FUNDED THROUGH NOAA FISHERIES
1:45 Raimundo Espinoza, Executive Director, Conservación ConCiencia; Megan Davis, Florida Atlantic University, Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute
BUILDING COMMUNITY BASED AQUACULTURE CAPACITY IN THE CARIBBEAN: A TRANSFORMATIVE QUEEN CONCH RESTORATION PARTNERSHIP
The queen conch is an important fishery in the Caribbean and is overfished. The closed season in Puerto Rico’s jurisdictional water is August 1 to October 31, and harvest has been prohibited since 1997 in the U.S. EEZ off of Puerto Rico. Most conch fished in Puerto Rico are consumed locally with little export. With the decline in conch populations in state and federal waters, closed seasons, and disruption of conch habitats from hurricanes, conch is a prime candidate for aquaculture in Puerto Rico. The project goal will expand on the existing S-K NOAA supported Aquaculture Center, which is located at the Naguabo Fishing Association, to produce conch juveniles for restoration and sustainable seafood. Local fishers, technicians and interns will operate the aquaculture operation in Naguabo and at two additional fishing associations. Workforce development and training in aquaculture practices for fishers and community members will be conducted. This project will also investigate the market for queen conch shells, a by-product of the fishery. The project serves as a model that can be transferred to more fishing communities in Puerto Rico.
2:00 Mario Marquez, Texas A&M Sea Grant
EXPANDING CULTIVATED OYSTER MARICULTURE IN TEXAS
With Texas becoming the last state in the U.S. to legalize oyster aquaculture, there is a large potential for industry growth and expansion. At the same time, many of the Texas wild oyster fishery dependent communities have also been negatively affected due to permanent bay closures of over 2,000-acres affecting mainly socio-economically underrepresented minority fishing communities. Texas Sea Grant aims to train wild harvesters in oyster aquaculture and create two oyster aquaparks in which farmers can obtain parcels to facilitate more farmers and grow the aquaculture industry
2:15 Azure Boure, Suquamish Tribal Member; Traditional Food and Medicine Program Coordinator, The Indigenous Aquaculture Collaborative Network; Ryan Crim, Puget Sound Restoration Fund
BASKETS OF COCKLES IN FIELDS OF GEODUCK: ASSESSING CLINOCARDIUM NUTTALLII ABUNDANCE IN GEODUCK FARMS ACROSS PUGET SOUND
Basket cockles (Clinocardium nuttallii) are a fast growing, medium-sized bivalve native to the west coast of North America that are prized by many Native American Tribes in the region. Over the past several decades, there has been a noted decrease in their availability by indigenous subsistence harvesters, prompting new avenues of research into this species' population genetics, vulnerability to a transmissible cancer, and opportunities for restoration. These investigations led collaborators at the Suquamish Tribe and Puget Sound Restoration Fund (PSRF) to connect with shellfish farmers and learn of an unlikely source of wild-caught basket cockles - PVC tubes and mesh sleeves used for planting geoduck seed, which inadvertently protect any cockles that settle inside. Many farmers see these basket cockles as a nuisance as their densities can be so high they are believed to be competing with geoduck for resources. Therefore some farmers will make the effort to remove cockles from tubes, leaving them on the beach or selling them for minimal profit to crab fishers. Here, we identified an opportunity to build a bridge between shellfish growers and Coast Salish Tribes interested in increased access to basket cockles. We have conducted population surveys at several geoduck farms to estimate the scale of this potential resource. We have also developed and tested a pathway for harvesting, transporting, and distributing cockles collected from geoduck farms to the Suquamish Tribal community. Here we will share our results to date and discuss the restoration implications moving forward.
2:30 Nina Hapner, Managing Director of Natural Resources and Dan Swezey, Director for Oceans and Aquaculture, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians
DEVELOPING DOMESTIC FORMULATED FEEDS AND SEA CUCUMBER POLYCULTURE INTEGRATION FOR CALIFORNIA ABALONE AQUACULTURE AND ABALONE CONSERVATION PRODUCTION
Over the course of the last decade, the West Coast of the United States has experienced a series of marine heatwaves. Impacts from these heatwaves have triggered the loss of over 90% of Northern California's kelp forests. Kelp loss has triggered starvation conditions for wild red abalone (Haliotis rufescens) and the closure of the fishery for this highly prized shellfish, which depends on kelp as a primary food source. In response to the fishery collapse, The Kashia Band of Pomo Indians of the Stewarts Point Rancheria, a Native Nation located in Sonoma County California, is working to establish a new Tribally owned and operated aquaculture farm that will produce red abalone. This farm will play a role in producing abalone for commercial seafood sales as well as producing abalone for wild outplanting to restore the declining fishery in collaboration with regional partners. As part of this effort, the Tribe is pursuing new feed technologies that utilize milled and dried grape marc meal, derived from California winery waste, as a primary ingredient. This technology, which takes advantage of a plentiful agricultural resource, may represent a viable alternative to current abalone production models based on kelp. This effort is also being coupled with the experimental co-culture of abalone with California sea cucumbers (Parastichopus californicus), a lucrative export species which has been experimentally shown to maintain high growth rates in captive co-association with abalone. The Tribe hopes that these activities will lead to the creation of new markets and opportunities for domestic U.S. aquaculture, while boosting efforts to restore declining populations of abalone in California
2:45 Albert Gaudé, Coastal Fishery Agent, Louisiana Sea Grant Program
LOUISIANA CLAMS: FOUNDATION OF NOVEL CULINARY BIVALVES IN COMMERCE
The presence of the native bivalve, Rangia cuneata/ Gulf Wedge Clam, is abundant in Louisiana’s brackish waters. Although historically consumed by First Nation occupants of the coastal regions, present day cultural preferences for other bivalves have all but deleted these bivalves from culinary attention. The primary resistance to general popularity has been the sometimes-strong odor of geosmin, a metabolite found in blue-green algae which are often filtered and digested by Rangia. Recent refinements in depuration methods of alleviating the negative impact of geosmin has opened potential acceptance to this locally novel bivalve. To adjust for this opportunity, Louisiana Sea Grant has orchestrated official amendments in 2015 state regulations to allow for legal commercial harvest of Rangia, thus opening a way for initiating availability to the public via retail seafood outlets. With the refined techniques in palatability through depuration, this proposal will introduce both culinary and public consumers to this novel bivalve.
3:00 Justin Manley, University of Georgia, Marine Extension and Georgia Sea Grant
DETERMING THE ECONOMIC VIABLILTIY OF THE DIVERSIFICATION OF THE GEORGIA HARD CLAM INDUSTRY INTO SOUTHERN QUAHOF, MERCENARIA CAMPECHIENSIS, MARICULTURE: A PERFORMANCE CAOMPARISON BETWEEN TWO CLAM SPECIES
Northern hard clam, Mercenaria mercenaria, mariculture has contributed to an increase in the landings value of clams harvested in Georgia by approximately four hundred percent between 2009 and 2018 from $603,290 to $2,469,644, respectively (GA DNR CRD, 2019). As clam mariculture expands Georgia industry members have indicated that improving production efficiency, estimation, product diversification, and market accessibility using alternative commercial species are essential to continued growth and success. To address industry concerns a commercial scale intertidal performance trial was conducted using 1.4 million southern (Mercenaria campechiensis) and 1.8 million northern hard clam seed distributed between three grow-out locations within the Sapelo Sound Estuarine System, GA. Southern hard clams are purported to have greater growth rates and heat tolerance but a shorter shelf life than northern hard clams making them an ideal candidate for flash frozen (IQF) product lines. Performance metrics collected for comparison between species included clam survival, growth, condition index, and biomass. Clam field data will be used to project final clam harvest at each research location for both clam species and validated with actual clam harvest reported by Sapelo Sea Farms, L.L.C. for purposes of return on investment (ROI) estimations. Project progress to be discussed herein.
3:15 Kira Kawano, Katuvi Consulting
HOOK, LINE, & SOCIAL MEDIA: A CASE STUDY USING DIGITAL MARKETING TO MOTIVATE CONSUMER PARTICIPATION IN THE SAN DIEGO SEAFOOD SYSTEM
San Diego’s fishing industry, which consists of about 130 commercial fishers and a growing number of seaweed and shellfish farmers, provide fresh, locally caught seafood to an ever-growing community of consumers wishing to make positive environmental and health choices. Yet, much of the San Diego public remains naïve about the diversity and availability of these sustainable and nutritious resources practically at their doorstep. The goal of this project is to build and execute a consumer awareness digital marketing campaign leveraging the existing Fishful Future website and Instagram accounts, a digital newsletter, a second social media account, and influencer marketing. This campaign will increase consumer awareness and familiarity with locally landed seafood species, the local seafood system, and home culinary approaches that are tailored for cultural relevance to the heterogeneity communities living in San Diego. By working with the fishing community, chefs, a diverse cross-section of community
influencers, and seafood consumers, this campaign will raise the profile of locally landed seafood for consumers and support the need of San Diego fishers to market their products directly to consumers in a market flooded with imports.
3:30 Dr. Diane Kim, CEO Holdfast Aquaculture
A SEAFOOD EQUITY HUB: ADDRESSING BARRIERS TO SEAFOOD IN LOW-INCOME FOOD-INSECURE COMMUNITIES USING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION AND SUPPLY CHAINS
The success of the US seafood industry over the long-term will be reliant on broadening its consumer base; improving access is good for the bottom line. To this end, we aim to develop a seafood distribution framework (i.e., Seafood Equity Hub) which expands sustainably grown aquaculture products to new food markets in lower-resourced and culturally diverse communities across Los Angeles. We see seafood-focused food hubs as a natural extension of ‘community supported fisheries’, with the additional integration of intermediary consumers (i.e., restaurateurs, retailers, community based organizations) that mitigate seafood producer costs associated with marketing, distribution, and consumer education. Such a model allows for competitive pricing for producers while supporting affordable access to lower-resourced consumers. This effort will i) Establish an actionable framework for a Seafood Equity Hub sustained in LA County; 2) Continue to build demand for and access to local aquaculture products among lower-resourced communities of color in Los Angeles; these communities are a significant and untapped consumer base with strong cultural relationships to seafood; and 3) Expand evidence of sustainable and profitable business practices that improve market access to domestic seafood products.
3:45 Alana Quintasket, Vice-Chairwoman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community
BUILDING RESILIENCY IN TRIBAL FISHING COMMUNITIES: USING INDIGENOUS AQUACULTURE TECHNIQUES TO ENHANCE CLAM PRODUCTION
The Swinomish Indian Tribal Community (SITC) is reviving an ancient mariculture practice by installing the first known present-day clam garden in the United States. Clam gardens are intertidal features modified by coastal Indigenous people (e.g., creating intertidal terraces to alter beach slope and substrate) to enhance clam habitat for optimal shellfish production. Healthy and productive shellfish beds provide important local foods and ecosystem services as well as support for human well-being. Unfortunately, recent declines in native clam species in the Pacific Northwest have generated concern about the sustainability of these resources for future generations. To address these concerns, SITC plans to utilize clam gardens to promote the integration of traditional ecological knowledge in contemporary resource management, encourage local food security, and provide a model for other coastal fishing communities. The proposed activities will leverage funds to construct a clam garden and study socio-ecological change associated with clam gardening. Moreover, clam gardens are readily adaptable to sea level rise and may be used as a climate change adaptation tool. Thus, information produced by this project will be transferable to other fishing communities interested in increasing clam production while utilizing a unique adaptation strategy and promoting sustainable fishing practices.
4:00 Harmony Lu and Lindsey Damon, Fishadelphia
FISHADELPHIA: EXPANDING A SUCCESSFUL PROGRAM CONNECTING NJ SEAFOOD HARVESTERS WITH CULTURALLY AND ECONOMICALLY DIVERSE SEAFOOD CONSUMERS
Building domestic markets for locally caught seafood is a critical strategy for supporting resilience of US small-scale fishing communities. Consumers of color and low-income consumers represent a largely untapped and high potential market for local seafood marketing. This project will build on the success of Fishadelphia, a local initiative working to connect NJ seafood harvesters with culturally and economically diverse consumers, expanding the program’s reach to a new group of retail customers as well as a diverse group of restaurants.
4:15 Alana Quintasket, Vice-Chairwoman, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community; Raimundo Espinoza, Executive Director, Conservación ConCiencia; Nina Hapner, Managing Director of Natural Resources, Kashia Band of Pomo Indians; Dr. Talia Young, Director, Fishadelphia; Azure Boure, Traditional Food and Medicine Program Coordinator, The Indigenous Aquaculture Collaborative Network; Huntley Penniman, Founder, Katuvi ; Diane Kim, CEO Holdfast Aquaculture
PROMOTING DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION THROUGH COMMUNITY BASED AQUACULTURE
Town Hall Style Discussion with many of the afternoons presenters that have implemented projects with a focus on diversity and inclusion