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. 

Three awards totaling $2 million in federal funding were recently awarded through the 2019 Sea Grant Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Research Initiative, a competitive research process.

New research and innovative collaborative efforts aim to advance domestic aquaculture. Forty two new projects funded by Sea Grant in three programs will work to increase understanding and transfer knowledge to end users for different topics and geographies across the U.S.

Sea Grant is funding new research aimed at understanding physical and chemical changes affecting American lobster (Homarus americanus) in the Gulf of Maine as well as a regional lobster extension program. 

Sea Grant and the National Marine Fisheries Service (Fisheries) are pleased to announce the 2019 Fisheries-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship recipients. Eight population and ecosystem dynamics fellowships were awarded through a competitive selection process. The Fisheries-Sea Grant Joint Fellowship program supports students pursuing doctoral degrees in population and ecosystem dynamics as well as marine resources economics. The program is a focused workforce development effort to train highly qualified professionals in areas of critical need for NOAA’s science-based approach to fisheries management.