Scientists from NCCOS joined with national and international partners for one week of a five-week course to teach students about aquaculture during the Marine Conservation Summer Institute at the Duke University Marine Laboratory in Beaufort, North Carolina. The July 13–17, 2015 session titled 'Marine aquaculture and marine conservation: Friends or Foes?' focused on aspects of aquaculture covering a variety of topics related to shellfish and finfish aquaculture, including the connection between aquaculture and marine conservation, where seafood comes from, sustainable aquaculture considerations, shellfish aquaculture as a conservation tool, marine spatial planning and aquaculture, and what happens when aquaculture species get loose.

NCCOS staff and Joao Ferreira, distinguished guest lecturer from the University of New Lisbon, Portugal, provided the national and international students with hands-on training in the use of the Assessment of Estuarine Trophic Status (ASSETS) model for eutrophication assessment and development of a model for oyster growth. Course organizers used a field trip to a local shellfish farm to illustrate the power of modeling in estimating potential growth and nutrient removal by oyster aquaculture.

For more information contact Suzanne.Bricker@noaa.gov or James.Morris@noaa.gov

Try the models out for yourself: Assessment of Estuarine Trophic Status [ASSETS] eutrophication model, and Farm Aquaculture Resource Management [FARM] shellfish aquaculture model.

Related project pages:

Aquaculture and Eutrophication in Long Island Sound and Great Bay - Piscataqua Estuary

Improved Aquaculture Decision-making Using the Aquaculture Mapping Atlas and FARM Model

National Estuarine Eutrophication Assessment: Update

Planning for Sustainable Shellfish Aquaculture in Complex Multiple Use Environments: Determining Social and Ecological Carrying Capacity for South Puget Sound (PECSA)

Shellfish Aquaculture and Payment for Ecosystem Services in Chesapeake Bay

Eutrophication and Oyster Aquaculture in the Patuxent River

AquaSpace - An Ecosystem Approach to Making Space for Sustainable Aquaculture