Businesses related to marine recreational boating are an important part of the economic engine and culture of coastal Virginia. These businesses and local communities benefit from technical assistance and outreach to help them access federal grant funding, which can have a big financial impact on these small businesses and the surrounding communities.

In 2016, Virginia Sea Grant extension staff affiliated with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science continued developing new relationships to provide technical assistance to the marine recreational boating community through research and training to support access to funds under the Department of Interior’s Boating Infrastructure Grant Program (BIG). Technical assistance provided by Virginia Sea Grant to the marine recreational boating industry generated $1.57 million of new BIG investments in the Commonwealth, with assistance from Virginia Sea Grant extension resulting in $27 million in new water access facilities since 2000.

Global aquaculture production is a $157 billion industry, with $20.5 billion of this representing the production of shellfish such as oysters, clams, and scallops. The threat of diseases can cause regulators to restrict interstate transfers of shellfish seed through zero-tolerance policies. The resulting restriction in commerce brings economic costs that can be challenging for small businesses to bear and limits development of an industry that has the potential to significantly revitalize coastal communities. Working with project partners and the larger East Coast commercial and regulatory communities, Virginia Sea Grant-supported researchers created a new model to promote the freer flow of shellfish seed. The results indicate that low levels of infection should not prevent a transfer of seed among East Coast states. This research encouraged states to move away from zero-tolerance policies and has made decision-making more straightforward for regulators.

Since 2013, over 550 culinary professionals have attended Virginia Sea Grant and the Virginia Chef’s Association Chef’s Seafood Symposium, a professional education event to educate and inform the industry about the science of the Chesapeake Bay and its seafood. The Chef’s Symposium is structured as a formal continuing education program and offers continuing education hours that can be used toward a chef’s renewal certificate. Consequently, culinary students comprise almost half of the symposium attendees. Former participants said that the Chef’s Seafood Symposium is one of the best educational seminars they have attended during the year—it allows them to cook better because they have learned to respect the ingredient, and where it came from.