The Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI) recently showcased its commitment to advancing sustainable aquaculture research at the Northeast Aquaculture Conference & Exposition (NACE) in Rhode Island. Established by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center  in 1998, NACE brings together a diverse network of stakeholders to discuss innovative research in aquaculture. ARI played a significant role in this dialogue, facilitating student involvement and showcasing the expertise of its researchers. The team, including Adam St Gelais, Cara Blaine, Kara Chuang, Chris Noren, Denise Skonberg, Brian Beal, Ayodeji Olaniyi, Kyle Brennan, Sue Ishaq, Paul Rawson, and Tim Bowden, covered a broad spectrum of topics ranging from seaweed cultivation and advanced fish nutrition to innovative shellfish farming and ecological sustainability practices. This engagement, coupled with a strategic visit to GreenWave hatchery in Connecticut, known for its regenerative ocean farming practices, underscores ARI’s commitment to driving forward the industry through relevant research and collaborative development, reinforcing its leadership in aquaculture innovation.

At the NACE conference, ARI participated in a panel discussion led by communication specialist Corinne Noufi. The panel brought together diverse perspectives covering a range of topics  from kelp aquaculture and nursery optimization to the complexities of scallop and finfish cultivation, as well as the importance of workforce development and communications. This session underscored ARIs dedication to fostering research that is not only academically rigorous but directly beneficial to the aquaculture industry. This approach effectively bridges the gap between academic research and practical application, ensuring ARI’s contributions impact the growth and sustainability of the aquaculture sector. Listeners can find the recording as part of ARIs Salty Talks Podcast. 

Prior to the conference, the visit to the GreenWave hatchery in Connecticut highlighted the importance ARI places on shared knowledge and industry relationships. This visit allowed ARI researchers to engage in-depth with other field experts, facilitating the exchange of innovative techniques and ideas. The primary focus of this visit was the exploration of advanced cultivation practices, particularly in the realm of seaweed culture. Using its new state-of-the-art photobioreactor (a system that uses controlled light and nutrients to grow algae more efficiently), ARI is at the forefront of advancements in these areas. The practices discussed are essential in addressing key challenges in the industry, such as optimizing resource use and reducing environmental impacts.

These discussions at GreenWave extended to encompass broader concerns within the aquaculture industry, including market dynamics, workforce development,  infrastructure challenges, and the role of aquaculture in climate change mitigation, reflecting ARI’s holistic approach to aquaculture research.

ARI’s attendance at  NACE provided a crucial interface between academic  and industry stakeholders, offering researchers and students valuable insights into the practical applications and implications of their research. This interaction is instrumental in fostering a collaborative space where academia and industry can converge, leading to innovations that are both scientifically sound and commercially viable.

This summer, 91±¬ÁĎ Ph.D. student Chris Noren leads the third year of Atlantic sea scallop data collection in Damian Brady’s lab, an affiliate faculty member of the Aquaculture Research Institute. . The rise of domestic & sustainable seafood as an increasingly desirable and necessary product, naturally compels the scallop industry to develop farmed counterparts as efficiently as possible. Until then, the supply-demand gap increases, leading the Brady Lab to develop sustainable industry practices for an emerging US aquaculture subsector, beginning with culture methods. 

Still, lantern nets have their limitations. Farming shellfish is backbreaking labor, with biofouling, sediment, and gear itself contributing to a weight hovering around 300 lbs. Most days, you can see the process in action, with Noren and his interns Ruth Havener and Gary Moline going between the experimental farm and the processing station on their floating dock (affectionately named Norman). Their routine is a good reminder of why a collaborative team makes all the difference. 

During the off-season, Havener studies at Duke University. However, she comes from a Maine family with multigenerational ties to the lobster industry. Life on the water has always been a cornerstone for her, but she did not realize her passion for Maine aquaculture until she meditated on life outside of the state. Aside from asserting “scallops are the best-tasting seafood,” Havener values their intersection with eDNA research. “I’m doing this internship to learn more about the aquaculture industry and its practices so I can apply it to my future career.” When Moline is away from his marine biology program at the 91±¬ÁĎ, he calls Belfast home. What began as a recreational diving trip in Mexico bloomed into “a whole new world” of possibility. Hands-on experience solidified his pathway during his time in ARI’s Aquatic Animal Health course. Each has a unique aquaculture background, but both Ruth and Gary ultimately share the desire to stay connected to the water.

“It’s work for sure, but it doesn’t feel like it,” according to Moline. Sustained progress on critical work requires a passionate cohort. Through their joint efforts, we can better understand why innovative  research is crucial throughout aquaculture, with scallops as no exception. Noren is taking additional initiative by looking into site optimization and different culture methods using innovative gear. Coupled with unique, strategic technology will solidify upward mobility of the state’s industry.

Noren’s bifurcated interests relate to gear innovation and temperature oscillation. Workability and efficiency are necessary considerations for scallop aquaculture, and lantern nets somewhat contradict the true capacity of suspended culture. Noren looks to contemporary Japanese farms, which serve as a gold standard for scallop operations. Japan employs an innovative growout alternative: ear-hanging. The name paints a unique visual of how the system works;  nets on a longline are replaced by suspended ropes with scallops spaced a few inches apart and secured by a pin positioned by their notch. Decades of implementation abroad indicates this system works well, with reduced biofouling, making the lines easier to handle. This alone contributes to residual benefits, especially in terms of processing and maintenance. Understanding impacts of a scallop farm’s location is of equal importance when it comes to optimizing the sector. The secret to effective site selection is intrinsically tied to the second aspect of Noren’s research: growth implications of oscillating temperature.

Both research foci rely on several tools and key players across the state. Researchers at the Darling Marine Center reference parameters (chlorophyll, temperature, pH, and salinity) provided by the Land/Ocean Biogeochemical Observatory (LOBO) Buoy, maintained by the Brady Lab. Concurrently, commercial growers from (Penobscot Bay) and Acadia Aqua Farm (Frenchman Bay) have been invaluable assets, offering high-value study sites that may be otherwise inaccessible to Noren and his peers. “We get to research under real conditions,” he notes. The team will “often run small trials at our farm and then scale them to commercial farms to get a better understanding of their relevance. Growers are better able to assess whether our research would work at scale. So, we get real world results and the industry gets to alleviate some risk from being an early adopter of new research.”Research like Noren’s, alongside his mentorship for Havener and Moline, is crucial for  Maine’s blue economy as it continues to accelerate. While industry leaders and researchers in the sector are the primary demographic for his work, his reach extends far beyond that. Producing informed and passionate externs is a crucial step in moving the industry forward as well. Their curiosity is contagious, and the impact from their knowledge can be limitless. Like the tide, scallop research moves fast. Keep up with groundbreaking findings in Chris’ upcoming paper: How scallop growth oscillates with temperature and season for sustainable development of the scallop aquaculture sector.

The beginning of May at the Darling Marine Center welcomes us with blooming birches, warmer sun, and the end of another academic year, giving graduate students the opportunity to present their research. This past week, more than 60 School of Marine Sciences graduate students, some affiliated with the Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI), gathered for a symposium in Brooke Hall to highlight innovative work in their fields of study. Presentations covered a wide range of topics, from genetics to environmental monitoring, demonstrating the diversity and depth of research conducted at ARI. Beyond the statistics and data, the research presented by these graduate students has a broader implication for climate change, environmental management, and environmental policy. With both warming waters and a growing aquaculture sector in Maine, it’s critical to understand our coastal ecosystem and the communities reliant upon them.

Shellfish research was the basis for many talks at the symposium as Chris Noren, Jamie Peterson, and Tom Kiffney focused on the future of scallops and oysters. Noren, one of Damian Brady’s students, discussed the importance of understanding how scallop growth oscillates with temperature and season for sustainable development of the sector. Peterson, a student of Paul Rawson and Kiffney, another student of Damain Brady both concentrated on oyster development. Kiffney discussed the difference between diploid and triploid oyster growth in the Damariscotta River. Triploid oysters, containing three sets of chromosomes instead of two (diploidy) are nearly sterile, allowing them to grow faster and larger, as energy is not spent on reproducing. Peterson spoke about oxylipins, looking at the impact they have on early stage development. Oxylipins, produced by marine diatoms, algae, and certain bacteria can cause abnormalities or be toxic to marine organisms. Understanding the detrimental impacts of oxylipins can provide useful information for larval rearing in hatcheries. Bobby Morefield, working in Heather Hamlin’s lab presented his work examining the role that sex pheromones can play in the mitigation of sea lice infestations on Atlantic Salmon. 

Impacts of climate change and aquatic animal health were also presented at the symposium. Kate Liberti and Rene Francolini, both working in the Brady lab, underscored the importance of understanding the ecology and oceanography of Maine’s coastline. Liberti talked about temporal and spatial differences in aragonite saturation in Casco Bay. Aragonite is a form of calcium carbonate, necessary for shellfish growth. Organisms may be stressed and have a harder time forming their shells when aragonite saturation levels fall below one. These lower levels of aragonite saturation are due to increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, so following the processes and changes impacting carbon dioxide can be useful as an indicator to understand how aragonite saturation state is changing in Casco Bay. Francolini spoke about kelp forests and understanding genetic connectivity of different populations along the coast. Genetic information at the population level can provide useful insight into how different populations of kelp will react to changing oceanic conditions. This baseline knowledge is imperative as kelp is an essential nursery habitat for many native species along Maine’s coastline. Another one of Brady’s students, Sydney Greenlee, honed in on early detection of harmful algal blooms (HABs) using environmental DNA (eDNA). Pseudo-nitzschia australis, a marine diatom, can cause the blooms which can result in amnesic shellfish poisoning in humans, as well as pose negative health impacts to marine mammals and seabirds. Prior methods made it challenging to distinguish between toxin and non-toxin producing Pseudo-nitzschia species. eDNA can serve as a rapid detection and quantification tool for these HABs, alerting managers to the presence of diatoms in their samples so they can close shellfish harvesting before toxins are present.

Kazu Temple’s, a student of Ian Bricknell, is looking into the parasitic relationship of Profilicollis botulus, a prevalent parasite in green crabs and the impact this may have on the native eider duck population. The European green crab, an invasive species posing challenges to shellfish growers and harvesters in the intertidal, is the host of the parasite Profilicollis botulus known as a “spiny-headed worm.” When other animals such as the eider duck eat green crabs, they also become infected. Knowledge of this parasitic interaction between green crabs and other organisms is useful, as green crabs have been suggested as bait for the lobster industry and can also provide informative data about the spread of green crabs as an invasive species across different regions in Maine.

The breadth and future impact of the research presented by these graduate students is impressive. This symposium serves as a reminder of the enormous potential this new generation of scientists has to shape the future of our marine ecosystems and coastal economies.

ORONO, Maine – The Aquaculture Research Institute has been awarded $2.25 million per year of congressional programmatic funding from the United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) for research on Recirculating Aquaculture Systems at the National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center.

Recirculating Aquaculture Systems (RAS) represent an increasingly important technology in the field of aquaculture. These land-based culture systems not only boost production and strengthen domestic aquaculture, but also reduce dependence on coastal ecosystems and enhance resilience to changing environmental conditions. With innovative research and effective management, RAS operations have the potential to revolutionize the way we think about sustainable aquaculture. 

In conjunction with an existing USDA-ARS Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement (NACA), this new funding will help establish ARI as a nationally recognized RAS research facility, focusing on shellfish and finfish species. Prioritized research includes the development of domestic broodstock, sustainable alternative feeds, the impacts of climate change, innovations in waste processing, reduction of environmental impacts, elimination of off-flavor compounds like geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol (MIB), and overall more energy efficient systems at the Center for Cooperative Aquaculture (CCAR). 

“We’re committed to expanding our knowledge and expertise in RAS to culture fish and shellfish in a way that’s productive and profitable, while ensuring the highest standards of animal well-being. The goal here is to optimize production, efficiency and sustainability”  explains Deborah Bouchard, Director of the Aquaculture Research Institute. 

This $2.25 million in funding represents a significant investment not only for the future of the RAS industry but for workforce development as well. Several new full-time positions have been created through both ARI and USDA-ARS, enhancing infrastructure at CCAR and expanding the facility’s capabilities for cutting-edge research and development. 

“This will allow ARI and USDA to continue work on improving Atlantic salmon reproductive inefficiencies. Low eye-up rates have plagued the salmon industry for the past 15 years. A new reproductive physiologist will be hired that will address these inefficiencies. In addition, a new fisheries biologist will be hired that will address off-flavor and water quality as it relates to salmon grown in RAS,” says Brian Peterson, Director National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center.

Ultimately, this will lead to a more sustainable and profitable future for the domestic aquaculture industry while making high-quality protein more accessible. 

By Meghan Nadzam

Stationed at in Walpole, ME for the summer of 2022, Meghan Nadzam is the first communications intern for 91±¬ÁĎ’s Aquaculture Research Institute (ARI).

As a communications intern, Nadzam meets with ARI interns for interviews and coordinates photo and video opportunities at various aquaculture businesses. Interviews cover all aspects of each research project: species of choice, how a topic relates to aquaculture in Maine, daily routine for the student.

While covering the students’ summer research projects in her interviews, Nadzam gets to do what she loves best: enjoy and explore the outdoors.

“I’ve always had such a fascination for nature. It can be overwhelming at times how much can go on in a small petri dish or sample of estuarine sediment,” Nadzam says.

Originally from Akron, OH, Nadzam graduated early from Wittenberg University with a Bachelor of Science in Biology with a minor in Marine Science in winter 2021. Nadzam hopes to attend graduate school to earn her Master’s degree in 2023 to pursue her current passions for Disease Ecology and Marine Conservation.

Her interest in science and communications evolved in Nadzam’s undergraduate years at in Springfield, OH. 

“I grew as a writer working at Wittenberg University’s newspaper, . Climbing the leadership ladder from reporter to Editor-in-Chief, I learned how to cover breaking news and how to formally interview faculty,” Nadzam says.

Wittenberg University‘s motto is, “Having Light, We Pass it On to Others.” Nadzam likes to carry those words with her as she works with the various ARI interns because she values the importance of passing knowledge on for future marine enthusiasts.

“I love to share the work of others and pass on what little stories I come upon. Especially when topics revolve around something that the intern and I find super cool, then it’s even more fun! We get to geek out together, bounce ideas off one another, and just marvel at the fact that we’re here, at the DMC, doing research about things we’re passionate about,” Nadzam says. “If it came down to it and an intern needed help in the field for a sample collection, my camera would go back in the bag. I love to get my hands dirty and work with critters, especially invertebrates. I’m here for the spontaneity.”