WOODS HOLE – The Woods Hole Sea Grant program has received two new grants totaling more than $650,000.
The funding comes from the NOAA sea grant program aimed at strategic investment in aquaculture. They will aid in expanding its production in Massachusetts.
Although the United States is one of the world’s biggest consumers of seafood, it trails other countries in production. A United Nations report in 2016 stated that the U.S. ranks behind 16 other countries.
One goal is to reduce the cost and simplify the process of getting permits to farm marine species.
The industry in Massachusetts has a value of more than $45 million. 93% of production is from oyster culture which is risky since disease would have a huge impact.
Growers will need some market-based data before they invest in a new species or new markets.
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