Shellfish and Aquaculture

A collaborative partnership to address mass mortalities in oyster aquaculture through improved field monitoring, husbandry practices, and workforce development

A novel proteomic-based approach to identify and mitigate factors responsible for shellfish mortality events

Use of shotgun proteomics to probe the causes of mysterious mass die-offs of oyster seed at hatcheries in Washington and Hawaii and assess implications for culture diet, water chemistry and microbes.

Principal Investigator
Steven Roberts

Alleviating Regulatory Impediments to Native Shellfish Aquaculture

With funding from a national strategic initiative, researchers are examining local adaptation in native Olympia oysters to help predict the impacts of culturing native shellfish species for restoration and commercial production.

Principal Investigator
Steven Roberts

Catalyzing a Cross-Pacific Regional Collaborative Hub to Advance Indigenous Aquaculture Practices and Enhance Marine Food Production for Cultural-Ecological Benefits

Cross-Pacific regional partners form a collaborative hub integrating research, outreach, and education to advance sustainable Indigenous Aquaculture practices.

Project Lead
Melissa Poe

Cultivating a sustainable future for basket cockles and tribal communities: restoring access to a preferred traditional First Food

Development of Genetic Risk Assessment Tools and Management Strategy Evaluation for Aquaculture of Native Shellfish

Researchers address genetic risks of native shellfish aquaculture by developing genetic risk assessment tools and evaluating risk management strategies.

Project Lead
Lorenz Hauser

Legacy and emerging contaminants in seaweeds of interest for Washington state aquaculture development

Pilot-scale net-pen grow-out of sablefish (“black cod”) by the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

Researchers partner with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and others to find cost-effective ways to successfully raise sablefish, or "black cod," for commercial-scale production.

Principal Investigator
Graham Young

Recovery of the Native Olympia Oyster, Ostrea lurida, in Northern Puget Sound: Measuring the Larval Import to and Export from a Restored Subpopulation

Researchers will use seawater chemistry to trace larval exchanges between Olympia oyster populations.

Principal Investigator
Bonnie Becker

Reviving the Past to Protect the Future: Developing a Social-Ecological Clam Garden site selection model

Researchers are creating a model to determine the best place to install the first present-day clam garden in the U.S.

Principal Investigator
Julie Barber

Seaweed Lines of Change: Laying the Groundwork to Advance the Practice of Sustainable Seaweed Farming in the Pacific Northwest

Researchers develop trainings and identify research and stakeholder needs to advance the practice of sustainable seaweed farming in the Pacific Northwest.

Project Lead
Meg Chadseyl

Settlement or death? Factors affecting early growth and mortality of juvenile clams in diverse Washington waters

Field studies and laboratory experiments probe the mystery of frequent extremely high juvenile mortality in ecologically and economically valuable clam species.

Principal Investigator
Megan Dethier

Spatial and Temporal Factors Influencing Recruitment Variability in Estuarine Bivalves

A larval sampling program enabled shellfish growers in Willapa Bay to examine Manila clam and oyster settlement and the impacts of climate-related warming on local bivalves.

Principal Investigator
Jennifer Ruesink

Sustaining marine forests: A genomics and experimental approach to inform bull kelp restoration, aquaculture and conservation

A Low-Cost Sensor Network for Early Detection of Alexandrium and Heterosigma Harmful Algal Blooms in the Puget Sound Region

This project will deploy a new imager network to collect and disseminate continuous, broad-scale data on harmful algal blooms to improve detection, monitoring, and mitigation processes.

Principal Investigator
Daniel Grünbaum

Crossbreeding and Selection for Resistance to Ocean Acidification in Pacific Oysters

Researchers will use genetic approaches to develop broodstocks for the shellfish industry that are better adapted to increasingly corrosive seawater impacting our coasts and estuaries.

Principal Investigator
Jonathan Davis

Effects of Early Exposure of Pacific Oysters to Ocean Acidification on Subsequent Performance

Washington Sea Grant research documents the effects on performance of later-life and transgenerational Pacific oysters due to early exposure to acidified waters, and assesses genetic factors for breeding acidification-tolerant lines.

Principal Investigator
Carolyn S. Friedman

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Declining Puget Sound Calcifiers

Examining five ecologically and economically important bivalves, researchers found these species exhibit different susceptibility to increasing CO₂ levels. Under the conditions tested, clams were relative winners and oysters losers.

Principal Investigator
Carolyn S. Friedman

Effects of Ocean Acidification on Salmon Olfactory Function and Magnetoreception

This study clarifies the mechanisms that underlie loss of smell in coho salmon and determines the effects of increased waterborne CO2 on olfactory and navigational functions, both of which are crucial to salmons’ ability to find their way back to their home streams to spawn.

Principal Investigator
Evan Gallagher

Impacts of Ocean Acidification on Wild and Farmed Mussels in Puget Sound

This project will expand on ocean acidification and temperature research relating to local mussel species to test for causes of seasonal weakening of mussel attachment.

Principal Investigator
Emily Carrington

Optical Detection and Characterization of Pre-HAB Populations of the Fish-killing Alga, Heterosigma akashiwo

Researchers created new imaging technology for monitoring harmful Alexandrium and Heterosigma algae, and developed a new model for predicting when and where Heterosigma will form HABs.

Principal Investigator
Daniel Grünbaum

Troubled Sediments: Heterosigma Cyst Formation and Longevity

Using a broad, integrated toolbox of techniques, researchers uncovered important information about Heterosigma’s behavior, life-history parameters, and metabolism. These findings can be used to build a testable model for predicting harmful algal blooms.

Principal Investigator
Rose Ann Cattolico

Understanding Dormancy Requirements and Germination of Alexandrium Cysts and Evaluating Cyst Mapping as a Tool for Early Warning of Harmful Algal Blooms

Studies revealed that surface-sediment cyst mapping alone may not reveal the full risk of Alexandrium catenella blooms. Determining the share of cysts capable of germinating helps shellfish growers anticipate toxic blooms.

Principal Investigator
Cheryl Greengrove

Using bioenergetics models to evaluate ecological and fishery impacts of climate change on Dungeness crab

Scientists examine the effects of changing water temperature on Dungeness crab, Washington's most valuable harvest, and develop bionergetic models to guide management strategies.

Principal Investigator
P. Sean McDonald

Zostera marina and Crassostrea gigas as potential partners in a changing ocean

Researchers will assess whether native eelgrass and Pacific oysters can synergistically enhance their environments.

Principal Investigator
Carolyn Friedman

An Ecosystem Approach to Investigate Direct and Indirect Effects of Geoduck Aquaculture Expansion in Washington State

Researchers will explore the ecosystem-level consequences of the recent geoduck aquaculture expansion with goals to improve the sustainability and successful management of operations in Puget Sound.

Principal Investigator
Glenn VanBlaricom

Community and Multitrophic Implications of Structure Additions Associated with Intertidal Geoduck Aquaculture

Sea Grant National Strategic Investment funds enabled university researchers to use traditional food-habit measuring techniques, chemical analyses, and energetic models to examine the effects of geoduck aquaculture operations on trophic relationships in Puget Sound.

Principal Investigator
Glenn VanBlaricom

Cultured–Wild Interactions: Disease Prevalence in Wild Geoduck Populations

As part of the Geoduck Aquaculture Research Program, researchers discovered previously unreported geoduck pathogens, seasonal and geographic factors influencing them, and molecular diagnostic tools to screen for disease.

Principal Investigator
Carolyn S. Friedman

Geochemical and Ecological Consequences of Disturbances Associated with Geoduck Aquaculture Operations in Washington

This research found significant but transient effects from geoduck aquaculture on mobile marine animals and no significant effects on benthic communities.

Principal Investigator
Glenn VanBlaricom

Resilience of Soft-Sediment Communities after Geoduck Harvest in Samish Bay, Washington

This research documented environmental effects of geoduck aquaculture on eelgrass meadows and associated soft-sediment habitat as part of the Geoduck Aquaculture Research Program.

Principal Investigator
Jennifer Ruesink

Toward Sustainable Geoduck Aquaculture Management in Puget Sound: Assessing Policy and Social Dimensions

Researchers are analyzing geoduck aquaculture policies and the associated stakeholder interests to answer concerns regarding the recent aquaculture expansion.

Principal Investigator
Clare Ryan

A New Native Species for Shellfish Aquaculture and Precautionary Guidelines to Protect Wild Populations: Local Adaptation, Population Differentiation and Broodstock Development in Rock Scallops

Researchers use several experimental approaches to investigate rock scallop populations’ genetic differentiation, habitat adaptation, and resilience to acidification.

Principal Investigator
Lorenz Hauser

Development and Commercial Transfer of Technologies to Improve the Hatching Success and Production of Juvenile Black Cod (Sablefish), Anoplopoma fimbria

Researchers are exploring new technologies to improve sablefish commercial fisheries.

Principal Investigator
Graham Young

Development of tools to support sustainable production of bivalve aquaculture in the face of an emerging virus

Researchers are developing early detection and diagnostic tools for emerging bivalve aquaculture diseases to improve emergency preparedness, rapid response and regulatory decision-making.

Principal Investigator
Carolyn Friedman

Enhancing sustainability of shellfish aquaculture through streamlined maturation control

Researchers seek an alternative method to produce sterile shellfish by studying Pacific oysters' germ cell line and testing methods to block its development.

Principal Investigator
Steven Roberts

Fish Aquaculture Simulation Model and Geographic Information Systems: Validation and Adaptation for Government Management Use

Researchers improved and validated the first successful modeling tool for evaluating net-pen aquaculture siting and environmental effects.

Principal Investigator
Jack Rensel

Growing Sustainable Shellfish: Understanding the Ecological Role of Shellfish Aquaculture Using Emerging Technology

Researchers collaborate with shellfish growers as citizen scientists to study the functional role of shellfish aquaculture habitat as compared to natural habitat.

Project Lead
Molly Bogeberg

Hydrothermal conversion of sugar kelp into hydrocarbons

Researchers employ catalytic hydrothermal liquefaction to convert wet sugar kelp to hydrocarbons that can be used as drop-in transportation fuels or high-value chemicals, and engage UW students through summer courses on kelp aquaculture and product development.

Principal Investigator
Fernando Resende

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

Researchers investigated the physical conditions and coastal-community views that determine ecological and social carrying capacity for shellfish aquaculture.

Principal Investigator
Daniel Cheney

Planning for Sustainable Shellfish Aquaculture: Identifying Current Activities, Public Perceptions, Conflicts, and Compatibilities

This research combines geospatial data and an examination of the social dimensions of shellfish aquaculture to ensure that it is fully integrated into coastal and marine spatial planning along the U.S. West Coast.

Principal Investigator
Bobbi Hudson

The purple hinged rock scallop, a promising aquaculture species with a toxic algal problem

Investigators are examining rock scallops to help establish an approved, reliable assay for evaluating biotoxins and to improve growout methods for the purple hinged rock scallop.

Principal Investigator
Bobbi Hudson

Transmission of Harmful Algal Bloom Toxins Through the Food Web

Researchers will survey for algal toxins in fish species caught in tribal commercial fisheries, to increase research and monitoring capacity within the Makah Tribe through expanding the Tribe’s capability to perform algal toxin analyses in-house.

Principal Investigator
Adrianne Akmajian

West Coast Aquaculture Collaborative

Washington Sea Grant, Oregon Sea Grant, and California Sea Grant form a collaborative hub to promote sustainable aquaculture on the West Coast.

Project Lead
Paul Dye

West Coast Shellfish Aquaculture–Economic Impacts, Barriers to Entry, and Opportunities for Expanded Production

Supported by the NOAA Sea Grant Aquaculture Research Program, researchers assembled data from coastal communities and provided the most comprehensive economic picture yet of West Coast shellfish aquaculture.

Principal Investigator
Daniel Cheney