Visitas: 134
By: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
On Monday, June 24, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Department of Agriculture will officially launch a new, state-of-the-art oyster breeding hatchery with a ribbon-cutting event featuring federal, state, and local officials, and oyster farmers. The purpose of the center is to apply cutting-edge science to selectively breed Eastern oysters that will perform in diverse and changing environmental conditions in the Northeast region. This work will ultimately bolster shellfish farming in coastal communities from New York to New Hampshire.
By harnessing the collective skills of both agencies, the team is poised to achieve advancements that would have traditionally required years to accomplish through conventional selective breeding methods. This initiative marks an important investment in the future of aquaculture in the Northeast and has strong support from the regional shellfish industry.
At the ceremony, attendees will have the opportunity to tour the facility and observe juvenile oysters as they are prepared for transfer to partner oyster farms for grow-out.
WHAT
Ribbon-cutting ceremony for the new Northeast Oyster Breeding Center.
WHEN & WHERE
Monday, June 24, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. EDT, followed by media availability and tour.
NOAA Fisheries Milford Lab
212 Rogers Ave, Milford, CT 06460
WHO
✓ Janet Coit – NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator.
✓ Caird Rexroad III, Ph.D. – USDA Agricultural Research Service National Program Leader for Aquaculture.
✓ Bob Rheault, Ph.D. – Executive Director, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association.
✓ Jon Hare – Director, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
✓ Danielle Blacklock – Director, NOAA Fisheries Office of Aquaculture.
Photo: (Left to right) Tom Delomas (USDA ARS), Isaiah Mayo (NOAA Fisheries) and Dina Proestou (USDA ARS) combine eggs and sperm from eastern oysters to create generation zero of a regional eastern oyster genetic improvement program (Credit: NOAA Fisheries/Kristen Jabanoski).
