21 st Century Technology for a Global Marketplace

1. 21st Century Technology for a Global Marketplace

2. What is Aquaculture? • Aquaculture is the propagation, rearing and subsequent harvesting of aquatic organisms in controlled or selected environments, and the subsequent processing, packaging and marketing, and shall include, but need not be limited to, activities to intervene in the rearing process to increase production such as stocking, feeding, transplanting and providing protection against predators. (P.L. 1997, c. 236 s.3)

3. Aquaculture can include: • Finfish for food • Finfish for recreational stocking • Finfish for resource enhancement • Finfish for nuisance species control • Baitfish • Ornamentals

4. The Dominant Aquaculture Product in NJ is: Shellfish

5. Aquaculture can also be: • Production of aquatic plants • Algae production for • Nutriceuticals • Pharmaceuticals • Food additives • Water quality enhancement

6. Reclam the Bay Grass roots organisms are using aquaculture to help make New Jersey a better place to live.

7. Baykeeper Restoration Oyster Restoration Project

8. Aquaculture Technology

9. Aquaculture Technology

10. What about environmental impacts? • New Jersey has adopted a set of Agriculture Management Practices as part of the Aquatic Farmer License Program • These Practices specifically address the issues of water quality, wetlands protection, wastewater treatment, water supply, and non-native species

11. Aquaculture is Important in Maintaining Good Water Quality Production of oysters, clams and mussels actually improves water quality by filtering algae and particulate matter out of the water.

12. Aquaculture Increases Biodiversity and Ecosystem Stability • Since it takes about three years for clams and oysters to reach market size, farmed shellfish help to seed natural shellfish beds benefitting both the environment and New Jersey recreational clammers. • Shellfish help to form a three dimensional substrate providing protection and homes for other marine organisms.

13. Increased Sustainability of New Jersey’s Marine Resources • The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United nations estimates that wild harvest fisheries have reached maximum sustainable yield but the worldwide demand for seafood is growing • USDA dietary guidelines recommend two seafood meals per week to maintain good health. Even without considering population growth, meeting that criterion would more than triplethe U.S. demand for seafood

14. Aquaculture Development Plan (1995) Projected: Creation of 2,500 jobs Annual revenues of $150,000,000 Utilization of 10,000 acres of upland An increase of 1,500 acres of aquatic leases

15. The Plan and enabling legislation recognized that: • Education, technology exchange, and research is a cornerstone for building a vibrant aquaculture industry in New Jersey • Significant federal dollars were accessed to help build a Multi-Species Demonstration Facility operated for the citizens of New Jersey by Rutgers University

16. Julius Nelson(1858-1916) • Became Director of the New Jersey Department of Oyster Culture in 1888. • The Department evolved into the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory • Nelson considered aquaculture a form of agriculture • Early work focused on increasing production through a better understanding of the oyster life history

17. Aquaculture is agriculture Nelson’s 1892 Annual Report: • I have called your oyster culture a department of agriculture. To this there have been serious objections. • off the coast there are men who call themselves oyster farmers; • who cultivate oysters on farms; • who sow oyster seed, and • Plant and transplant oysters • who let their ground lie fallow to rest now and then, because it has raised so many crops as to be exhausted…

18. Oysters • Oysters were once a mainstay of the economy in the small town ringing the Delaware Bay • In 1888 oysters were planted on less than 15,000 acres and yielded $2,250,000 (over $50.5 MILLION in 2007 dollars) or about $150 per acre (well over $3,000 in 2007 dollars).

19. Oyster research has come a long way: The Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory has become an authoritative center for research, industry services, education, and extension • Tetraploidy • Disease resistant oysters • Shellfish pathology • New resistant, faster growing species

20. Rutgers technology leads to joint venture

22. Economic Opportunities • It is estimated that every 250,000 bushels of oysters harvested provides 24 person years of DIRECT employment • Those dollars benefit other local businesses • The Oyster Industry Revitalization Task Force final report estimated that Delaware Bay oyster production would increase to between 200,000 and 330,000 bushels per year

23. Hard Clams/Quahogs • Hard clams are among the top ten species harvested or farmed in New Jersey • Several groups have been formed including Reclam the Bay to help return more hard clams to Barnegat Bay. • Recently, clam farmers have formed an organization to help market their clams as local, hand harvested product

25. Rutgers works with state government

26. An industry committed to market expansion

27. Rutgers MADF

28. Initial Funding From: • National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration • New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology • Public Service Electric and Gas • Casino Redevelopment Authority

29. University support: • Using significant federal and state dollars, academic infrastructure has been built, but lack of operating capital is jeopardizing the viability and effectiveness of those resources • Other states in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions have recognized the economic value of developing aquaculture industries and have dedicated considerable resources to facilitate growth of the industry. • Support for both finfish and shellfish aquaculture is, in part, reflected in academic programs and research at the university level in those states. • Those mature academic programs have successfully spun-off profitable commercial aquaculture operations.

30. University Facilities • Have helped launch major commercial facilities in other states • Have provided assistance and expertise to allow the existing industry to grow • Have assisted in coordinating other programs within the university to provide expertise in areas such as food processing and technology

31. What are other states doing? • In New York, Fingerlakes Aquaculture, a spin-off from Cornell University, operates a high-tech indoor recirculating system with a production capacity of 1.25 million pounds of tilapia per year. This makes it one of the largest indoor recirculating aquaculture systems in North America. • Blue Ridge Aquaculture, Martinsville, Virginia ships an estimated 75,000 pounds of live tilapia to New York, Boston, and Toronto each week. The company is teamed up with MariCal to launch Virginia Cobia Farms. Both of these projects were shepherded by researchers at Virginia Tech

32. The Rutgers Facility can: • Provide similar stimulus in New Jersey • Serve as a vehicle to attract additional grants and funding to New Jersey since aquaculture is rapidly becoming a major focus of the activities at USDA, USDOC, and Energy

33. What about the economy? • To be competitive, aquaculture operations are often located in areas where land values are low • These areas have very often faced severe economic challenges • Examples can be seen in the towns ringing Delaware Bay where there was once a thriving oyster industry • Aquaculture creates jobs in shoreside industries such as seafood processing, marketing, transportation and vessel maintenance

34. Induced Impacts of Fish Farming Industries supported by household income earned in fish farming and upstream industries Induced Impacts of Fish Farming Industries supported by household income earned in fish farming and downstream industries Direct Impacts of Downstream Industries Downstream industries supplied by fish farms Processing Transportation Wholesaling Retailing Foodservice Indirect Impacts of Downstream Industries Industries supplying downstream industries Packaging Truck manufacture Utilities Indirect Impacts of Fish Farms Upstream industries supplying fish farms Hatcheries Equipment manufacturers Feed manufacturers Veterinary services Industries supplying upstream industries

35. What are the opportunities for Aquaculture in New Jersey? • Locally produced food meets the consumer need for high quality food produced in an environmentally sound manner • Organically grown foods help to ensure the safety of the food supply • Increased availability of reasonably priced seafood can benefit the health of the state’s citizens • Providing fish for recreational stocking helps improve the overall quality of life • Backyard ponds are growing popularity

36. Opportunities • Environmental remediation • Stock enhancement • Pharmaceuticals and nutriceuticals

37. Environmental Impacts

38. Growth Opportunities

39. Building on New Jersey’s High Tech Industries • Add to the economic vitality • Marine organisms have shown promising results in the production of • Enzymes for preventing freezing in proteins important in medical, food and cosmetic industries • Marine biologics • Functional foods-Nestle and General Mills already are working with marine derivatives • Anti-cancer drugs if successful can produce revenues similar to other cancer drugs (Avastin $2.7 billion per year, Herceptin ($1.3 billion per year) • Antivirals

40. Shared technology Israel

41. Compatible Uses: