Marine ecologist Daphne Munroe, associate professor in the Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, has a deep respect for New Jersey’s Delaware Bay and its unique ecosystem that supports an abundance of life. Munroe, a shellfish researcher working out of the Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory in Port […]
Rutgers-led Project Successfully Conducts Testing of Shellfish Reef Structure Designed to Promote Coastal Resilience
The Rutgers-led Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) project—awarded $12.6 million last fall to develop an artificial reef ecosystem to help project coastlines from storm damage, flooding and erosion—recently conducted laboratory testing of modular oyster reef-mimicking structures for eventual installation in the Gulf Coast. The multi-institution project, “Reefense: A Mosaic Oyster Habitat (MOH) for Coastal Defense,” […]
Living Shoreline Combats Coastal Erosion Caused by Sea Level Rise
Rutgers Scientists and high school volunteers from Camden are using nature to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion in Southern New Jersey. Together they built a living shoreline near the New Jersey Aquaculture Innovation Center in Cape May that uses marsh grasses and recycled oyster and clam shells. The shells, incorporated into modified concrete blocks called Oyster […]
Feasible Surfclam Husbandry Techniques for Northeast Shellfish Growers
Editor’s note: Michael Acquafredda (GSNB’19) earned a doctoral degree in Ecology and Evolution in the Rutgers School of Graduate Studies A study that provides technical aspects of Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) husbandry supports the feasibility for the culture of the species in the U.S. Northeast region. “Overall, successful surfclam nursery culture aligns well with the […]
Rutgers Shellfish Breeding Program Enters the Genomic Era
A consortium of scientists led by Rutgers University has developed a high-density DNA chip for the eastern oyster to better research and breeding The Rutgers shellfish breeding program, an ongoing project supported by the Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fishery Service, is testing a high-density DNA chip for […]
Rutgers Awarded $12.6 Million Grant to Create Oyster Habitat for Coastal Resilience
The university-led project is in response to a broader effort to protect critical coastal civilian and Department of Defense infrastructure and personnel at risk of climate change Rutgers has been awarded $12.6 million by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop an oyster-based shoreline ecosystem to help protect coastlines from storm damage, flooding […]
Offshore Wind Farms Expected to Reduce Clam Fishery Revenue
An important East Coast shellfish industry is projected to suffer revenue losses as offshore wind energy develops along the U.S. Northeast and Mid-Atlantic coasts, according to two Rutgers studies. The studies, which appear in the ICES Journal of Marine Science (here and here), examined how offshore wind farms planned for the eastern United States could disrupt fishing […]
Rutgers Oyster History Preserved!
After longtime Rutgers Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory (HSRL) associate Walt Canzonier passed away in June 2021, a box containing historic data was returned to the lab. Canzonier had designed and overseen much of the construction of the current lab in Bivalve, NJ, according to professor David Bushek, Department of Marine and Coastal Sciences and director […]
Agriculture, Food Systems, and the Environment: Supporting Oyster Farmers and Restoring Habitat
Like many sectors in the global economy, the shellfish aquaculture industry has suffered significant economic decline, especially as shellfish farmers rely on direct sales to restaurants or on wholesale markets that ultimately serve restaurants. As the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered restaurants across the U.S., a critical link in the shellfish aquaculture supply chain was lost. This […]
Rutgers-led Research Further Enhances Shellfish Aquaculture in New Jersey
Shellfish aquaculture is one of the most important aquaculture industries in the U.S. and around the world. Among the most environmentally friendly food production systems on earth, shellfish farming boosts both socioeconomic and ecological benefits. New Jersey’s farm-raised shellfish are highly sought after, appreciated for their high quality and unique flavor. Currently, there are about […]
