Mainebiz reports on aquaculture site selection research
Mainebiz reported on research being conducted at the University of Maine Darling Marine Center in Walpole that seeks to take the risk out of selecting aquaculture sites by using buoys, sensors and other instrumentation to monitor water conditions for optimal growth of particular species. “The aquaculture industry in Maine in the last five to 10 years has been expanding,” said Damian Brady, an assistant professor of marine sciences, who is mentoring Katie Coupland, a doctoral candidate in oceanography, on the project. The aim is to better understand the physics and biology of the estuary environment where aquaculture sites are located and use the added information to make the industry more sustainable, both economically and environmentally, according to the article. The research is part of a five-year, $20 million National Science Foundation project that started two years ago as part of the Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research, or EPSCoR. The grant established a Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture Network, or SEANET, program in Maine. “In aquaculture, we’re at a point where there isn’t enough information out there to decrease risk, so what we’re pursuing in the SEANET program is bringing new information to this field so we can make better decisions and decrease the risk,” Brady said. “It’s like farming on land. You benefit from more information.”