NOAA Sea Grant today announced $3.5 million in federal funding to support two efforts aiding sustainable growth of U.S. seafood, one focused on improving coordination for marine aquaculture development and another that addresses COVID-19 impacts to seafood resources.
Washington Sea Grant’s fellowships give students and recent graduates the real-world experience in marine research, policy and communication they need to help jump-start their careers. These fellows go on to do amazing things around the world.
In Puget Sound, The Nature Conservancy in Washington wants to learn more about shellfish aquaculture structures and how they impact the marine environment for specific organisms or life stages. They partner with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Washington Sea Grant, as well as the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and shellfish farms, to study which fish and crab species use shellfish aquaculture habitats.
Scientist Carrie Garrison-Laney, a coastal hazards specialist for Washington Sea Grant and liason to the Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory, pieces together stories of past tsunamis in the Pacific Northwest. Understanding the destruction caused by past tsunamis can prepare vulnerable coastal communities for future events.
October is National Seafood Month
Washington's Bellingham SeaFeast (not “fest”, as I learned) was truly a feast of the ocean’s bounty.