Sea Grant rapid response investments in aquaculture in 2020 provide multifaceted benefits
Several Sea Grant projects purchased farm fresh seafood originally intended for local restaurants and repurposed it to restore aquatic and marine environments. Not only did this creative solution aid in local restoration efforts but it also provided immediate relief to aquaculture producers whose sales were impacted by the pandemic.
Large-scale offshore aquaculture may have much less environmental impact from nutrient pollution than people suspect, according to a recent study funded by Florida Sea Grant and NOAA Fisheries.
Offshore aquaculture is poised to grow in the coming years to help offset the U.S. seafood trade deficit, but concerns have been raised about the potential for fish waste to pollute surrounding waters by introducing unnaturally high nutrient levels. In this new study, researchers found little evidence of nutrient pollution from a commercial cobia aquaculture farm located offshore the Republic of Panama.
Hawai'i Sea Grant's Homeowner's Handbook to Prepare for Natural Hazards has been helping homeowners on the islands and beyond prepare for disasters since 2007.
Sea Grant works with coastal communities across the U.S., Puerto Rico and Guam to improve community resilience to coastal storms. Sea Grant engages in vulnerability assessments, resilience planning and social science initiatives to learn from previous storms and better prepare for future storms.
Hurricane Irma displaced more than 150,000 spiny lobster traps in the Florida Keys last year, sometimes miles away from their original locations. But a novel eyes-in-the-sky solution developed with support from Florida Sea Grant has saved the industry nearly $4 million.