Annual Report

2022

The Year In Review

The Aquaculture Research Institute serves Maine as a leader in aquaculture research, workforce development, and innovation with the goal of advancing a sustainable aquaculture future in Maine and beyond.

ARI pursues these four strategic goals

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2022 Projects and Outcomes

Aquaculture Experimental Farm Site

Through a USDA Partnership, ARI bought a new boat, truck, and hatchery equipment, to add capacity to Aquaculture Experimental Farm in the Damariscotta River off the Darling Marine Center. The farm worked with other oyster businesses in the area to understand oyster health and overwintering strategies, supported the work of students, and hosted the Eastern Oyster Breeding Consortium which conducted broodstock research researchers at UMaine.

Finfish Nutrition Program

ARI’s new finfish nutrition program is being developed by the two new hires Dr. Habte-Tsion and Dr. Hawkyard. This program aims to improve the nutrition and health of marine finfish through improved sustainable feed technologies. Hawkyard’s lab works on comparing novel feed diets for larval finfish. Habte-Tsion’s lab specializes in evaluating alternative novel ingredients and how feed impacts gene expression.

Aquaculture Experiential Opportunities for Undergraduates (AquEOUS)

ARI has received the first U.S. Department of Agriculture Research and Extension Experiences for Undergraduates (USDA-REEU) site award at the University of Maine as a designated Center of Excellence in Aquaculture. This grant increases participation for students of diverse backgrounds while combining Traditional Ecological Knowledge and aquaculture science to advance sustainability. This project was made possible through collaboration with the Wabanaki Center and engagement with tribal leaders. The pilot will launch starting with a virtual seminar in Spring 2023 followed by a 10-week fellowship at the University of Maine.

Sustainable Aquaculture Systems Supporting Atlantic Salmon Project (SAS²)

In collaboration with University of Maryland Baltimore, the consortium was awarded a $10 million USDA Sustainable Agricultural Systems grant to research land based salmon aquaculture. SAS² brings together academics, federal researchers, and partners from the U.S, Iceland and Norway to build on the Sea Grant funded RASNetwork (RAS-N). The RAS-N, a three year project networks stakeholders to develop a roadmap for Atlantic Salmon RAS in the U.S. The multi-state consortium aims to increase public awareness, and boost the economical and environmental sustainability of the industry.

RAS Water Quality Lab Analysis

High standards for product quality is important as the farm-raised fish industry continues to grow. Naturally occurring bacteria in soils and water can sometimes exist in recirculating systems. These bacteria can create compounds such as geosmin resulting in an “off-flavor” in the fish. In collaboration with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Research Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS), ARI invested in a fee for service water quality analysis lab to detect these compounds early. This is important for growers as it allows them to implement mitigation strategies to reduce these compounds before harvesting.

ARI’s Summer Externship Program

In 2022, 12 students participated in ARI’s summer externship which provides undergraduate students with hands-on aquaculture experience working as employees of industry and non-profit partners in Maine’s aquaculture industry. Externs completed projects identified by the host institution which ranged from aquaponics farms to municipal shellfish management departments. Externs also received communications training, professional development, and mentorship to build skills in identified occupational standards.

ARI AREAS OF Impact

Diversity and
Inclusion

Promoting DEI throughout the organization and engaging with Wabanaki communities to facilitate participation in the aquaculture sector is important to ARI. Click here to learn more .

Growing Capacity and Expanding Partnerships

ARI has helped grow the industry locally through and economic development, and renovation and construction. Click here to learn more.

Research
Innovations

ARI received funding from many sources, resulting in successful projects ranging from larval nutrition to sea lice. Click here to learn more.

ARI’s Financial Sustainability

ARI’s core faculty and staff submitted 38 grants, collaborated with industry partners, and received donations to augment the funds they received through the Maine Economic Improvement Fund.

$9,556,971

Grant Submissions

$683,821

Contracted Research

$130,350

Donations

$4,442,623

Grants Received

ARI in the Media

Publications

Suzanne L. Ishaq, Sarah M. Turner, M. Scarlett Tudor, Jean D. MacRae, Heather Hamlin, Joelle Kilchenmann, Grace Lee, Deborah Bouchard, May 2022. Many Questions Remain Unanswered About the Role of Microbial Transmission in Epizootic Shell Disease in American Lobsters (Homarus americanus), a perspective article, Frontiers in Microbiology, https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2022.824950

St-Gelais, A. T., Fredriksson, D. W., Dewhurst, T., Miller-Hope, Z. S., Costa-Pierce, B. A., & Johndrow, K. (2022). Engineering A Low-Cost Kelp Aquaculture System for Community-Scale Seaweed Farming at Nearshore Exposed Sites via User-Focused Design Process. Front. Sustain. Food Syst. 6: 848035. doi: 10.3389/fsufs.

Coleman, S., St. Gelais, A., Fredriksson, D., Dewhurst, T., & Brady, D.C. (2022) Identifying scaling pathways and research priorities for kelp aquaculture nurseries using a techno-economic modeling approach. Frontiers in Marine Science. doi:0.3389/fmars.2022.894461

Leeman, C., Martin, E., Coleman, S., Gray, M.W. & Brady, D.C. (2022) The potential socio-environmental advantages of repurposing lobster impoundments for eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) aquaculture. Aquaculture. 554: 738130. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2022.738130

Jiang, B., Boss, E., Kiffney, T.J., Hesketh, G., Bourdin, G., Fan, D., & Brady, D.C. (2022) Oyster aquaculture site selection using high resolution remote sensing: A case study in the Gulf of Maine, USA. Frontiers in Marine Sciences. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.802438

Both, A., C. J. Byron, D. C. Brady, B. Costa-Pierce, L. M. Mayer and C. C. Parrish (2022) Solubilization of nutritional lipids from three coastal and estuarine primary producers using sodium taurocholate as a model surfactant to mimic typical consumer gut-fluids. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 548: 151686.

Farr, E.R., Johnson, M.R., Nelson, M.W., Hare, J.A., Morrison, W.E., Lettrich, M.D., Vogt, B., Meaney, M., Howson, U.A., Auster, P.J., Borsuk, F.A., Brady, D.C., Cashman, M.J., Colarusso, P. Grabowski, J.H., Hawkes, J.P., Mercaldo-Allen, R., Packer, D.B., Stevenson, D.K. (2021) An assessment of marine, estuarine, and riverine habitat vulnerability to climate change in the Northeast U.S. PLoS ONE 16(12): e0260654. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0260654

Habte-Tsion, H.-M., Riche, M., Mejri, S., Bradshaw, D., Wills, P.S., Myers, J.J., Perricone, C.S., 2022. The effects of fish meal substitution by clam meal on the growth and health of Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus). Nature: Scientific Reports, 12, 7696.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-022-11675-x

Asnake, W., Ulusoy, B.H., Habte-Tsion, H.-M., 2021. Spirulina phenolic compounds: A natural choice as a food additive with antifungal properties. International Food Research Journal, 28, 1109 – 1118 (published in Dec 2021).

Coleman, S., Morse, D., Brayden, W.C., & Brady, D.C. (2021) Developing a bioeconomic framework for scallop culture optimization and product development. Aquaculture Economics & Management https://doi.org/10.1080/13657305.2021.2000517

Hillyer, G., Liu, W., McGreavy, B., Melvin, G., & Brady, D.C. (2021) Using a stakeholder-engaged approach to understand and address bacterial transport on soft-shell clam flats. Estuaries and Coasts. doi.org/10.1007/s12237-021-00997-0

Coleman, S., T. Kiffney, K. R. Tanaka, D. Morse and D. C. Brady (2021). Meta-analysis of growth and mortality rates of net cultured sea scallops across the Northwest Atlantic. Aquaculture. doi.org/10.1016/j.aquaculture.2021.737392

Grebe, G., Byron, C., Brady, D.C., St. Gelais, A., & Costa-Pierce, B (2021) The effect of distal-end trimming on Saccharina latissima morphology, composition, and productivity. Journal of the World Aquaculture Society 1-18. doi:10.1111/jwas.12814

Newell, C.R., Hawkins, A.J.S., Morris, K., Boss, E., Thomas, A.C., Kiffney, T.J., & Brady, D.C. (2021) Using high resolution remote sensing to characterize suspended particulate organic matter as bivalve food for aquaculture site selection. Journal of Shellfish Research. 40(1): 113-118.

Coleman, S., Cleaver, C., Morse, D., Brady, D.C. & Kiffney, T. (2021) The coupled effects of stocking density and temperature on Sea Scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) growth in suspended culture. Aquaculture Reports. 20: 100684.

Grebe, G. S., C. J. Byron, D. C. Brady, A. H. Geisser and K. D. Brennan (2021). The nitrogen bioextraction potential of nearshore Saccharina latissima cultivation and harvest in the Western Gulf of Maine. Journal of Applied Phycology 33(3): 1741-1757.Book chapter: Gabriel, N.N., Habte-Tsion, H.-M., Haulofu, M., 2022. Perspectives of Nanotechnology in Aquaculture: Fish Nutrition, Disease, and Water Treatment. In: Krishnan, A., Ravindran, B., Balasubramanian, B., Swart, H.C., Panchu, S.J., Prasad, R. (eds) Emerging Nanomaterials for Advanced Technologies. Nanotechnology in the Life Sciences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-80371-1_15

Publication under review with ” Extraction and detection of geosmin and 2-methylisoborneol in water using high-capacity sorptive extraction (HiSorb^TM) with analysis by GC–MS

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