Shellfish and Aquaculture
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Current Projects
Akmajian, Adrianne, Principal Investigator
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.
Bogeborg, Molly, Principal Investigator
Ecological Role of Shellfish Aquaculture
Researchers collaborate with shellfish growers as citizen scientists to study the functional role of shellfish aquaculture habitat as compared to natural habitat.
Chadsey, Meg, Principal Investigator
Advancing Seaweed Farming Practices
Researchers develop trainings and identify research and stakeholder needs to advance the practice of sustainable seaweed farming in the Pacific Northwest.
Dye, Paul, Principal Investigator
West Coast Sustainable Aquaculture Hub
Washington Sea Grant, Oregon Sea Grant, and California Sea Grant form a collaborative hub to promote sustainable aquaculture on the West Coast.
Friedman, Carolyn, Principal Investigator
Researchers will assess whether native eelgrass and Pacific oysters can synergistically enhance their environments.
Gallagher, Evan, Principal Investigator
Ocean Acidification and Salmon
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.
Hauser, Lorenz, Principal Investigator
Managing Genetic Risks of Native Shellfish Aquaculture
Researchers address genetic risks of native shellfish aquaculture by developing genetic risk assessment tools and evaluating risk management strategies.
Resende, Fernando, Principal Investigator
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.
Roberts, Steven, Principal Investigator
Researchers seek an alternative method to produce sterile shellfish by studying Pacific oysters’ germ cell line and testing methods to block its development.
Poe, Melissa, Principal Investigator
Cross-Pacific Indigenous Aquaculture Hub
Cross-Pacific regional partners form a collaborative hub integrating research, outreach, and education to advance sustainable Indigenous Aquaculture practices.
Young, Graham, Principal Investigator
Pilot Sablefish Net-Pen Grow-Out
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.
Completed Projects
Barber, Julie, Principal Investigator
Researchers are creating a model to determine the best place to install the first present-day clam garden in the U.S.
Becker, Bonnie, Principal Investigator
Larval Exchange in Olympia Oyster Recovery
Researchers will use seawater chemistry to trace larval exchanges between Olympia oyster populations.
Carrington, Emily, Principal Investigator
OA Effects on Mussel Attachment Strength
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.
Cattolico, Rose Ann, Principal Investigator
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.
Cheney, Daniel, Principal Investigator
Shellfish Growing Capacity in S. Puget Sound
Researchers investigated the physical conditions and coastal-community views that determine ecological and social carrying capacity for shellfish aquaculture.
Cheney, Daniel, Principal Investigator
West Coast Shellfish Aquaculture Assessment
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.
Davis, Jonathan, Principal Investigator
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.
Dethier, Megan, Principal Investigator
Early Growth and Mortality of Juvenile Clams
Field studies and laboratory experiments probe the mystery of frequent extremely high juvenile mortality in ecologically and economically valuable clam species.
Friedman, Carolyn, Principal Investigator
Cultured-Wild Geoduck Interactions, Disease
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.
Friedman, Carolyn, Principal Investigator
OA Exposure Effects on Pacific Oysters
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.
Friedman, Carolyn, Principal Investigator
Ocean Acidification Effects on Calcifers
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.
Friedman, Carolyn, Principal Investigator
Tools to Fight Bivalve Viruses
Researchers are developing early detection and diagnostic tools for emerging bivalve aquaculture diseases to improve emergency preparedness, rapid response and regulatory decision-making.
Greengrove, Cheryl, Principal Investigator
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.
Grünbaum, Daniel, Principal Investigator
Low-Cost Sensor Network for HABS
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.
Grünbaum, Daniel, Principal Investigator
Optical Tools for HAB Detection
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.
Hauser, Lorenz, Principal Investigator
Guidelines for Rock Scallop Aquaculture
Researchers use several experimental approaches to investigate rock scallop populations’ genetic differentiation, habitat adaptation, and resilience to acidification.
Hudson, Bobbi, Principal Investigator
Biotoxins Uptake in Rock Scallops
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.
Hudson, Bobbi, Principal Investigator
Planning Shellfish Aquaculture
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.
McDonald, P. Sean, Principal Investigator
Climate Change Impacts 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.
Rensel, Jack, Principal Investigator
Model for Siting Fish Aquaculture
Researchers improved and validated the first successful modeling tool for evaluating net-pen aquaculture siting and environmental effects.
Roberts, Steven, Principal Investigator
Causes of Oyster Seed (or Spat) Dieoffs
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.
Roberts, Steven, Principal Investigator
Olympia Oyster Genetics and 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.
Ruesink, Jennifer, Principal Investigator
Geoduck-Eelgrass Interactions in Samish Bay
This research documented environmental effects of geoduck aquaculture on eelgrass meadows and associated soft-sediment habitat as part of the Geoduck Aquaculture Research Program.
Ruesink, Jennifer, Principal Investigator
Recruitment Variability in Oysters and Clams
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.
Ryan, Clare, Principal Investigator
Assessing Geoduck Aquaculture Policies
Researchers are analyzing geoduck aquaculture policies and the associated stakeholder interests to answer concerns regarding the recent aquaculture expansion.
VanBlaricom, Glenn, Principal Investigator
Biogeochemical Changes Due to Geoduck Culture
This research found significant but transient effects from geoduck aquaculture on mobile marine animals and no significant effects on benthic communities.
VanBlaricom, Glenn, Principal Investigator
Ecological Effects of Internal Geoduck Culture
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.
VanBlaricom, Glenn, Principal Investigator
Puget Sound Ecosystem Model for Geoduck
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.
Young, Graham, Principal Investigator
Technologies for Sablefish Aquaculture
Researchers are exploring new technologies to improve sablefish commercial fisheries.