Juliana Barrett, far right, and Owen Placido, center, both of CT Sea Grant Team Resilience, meet with members of the West Haven Land Trust and the town's director of parks and recreation to learn and offer advise about a project to remove invasive plants from a 40-acre land trust parcel adjacent to the town beach.Deborah Abibou, left front, CTSG assistant extension educator-sustainable and resilient communities, talks about resilience tools and strategies at a March 7 funding workshop attended by about 40 people.Assistant Extension Educator Michael Gilman talks about different types of oyster cages to some of the students in the 2024 "Foundations of Shellfish Farming" class being offered by CT Sea Grant.Audience members applaud after the Coastal Perspectives Lecture by author and artist Patrick Lynch titled, "A Tale of Two Estuaries."Fisherman John Genther, center, received a Meritorious Service Award from the Coast Guard for saving a man's life less than two weeks after taking first aid training hosted by CTSG.Lauren Barrett, left, Kayla Mladinich Poole, center, and Kristen Williams, CTSG-sponsored members of the 2024 class of the John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship, gather at a NOAA Hydrolab exhibit during program orientation in Silver Spring, MD, this winter.Michael Thomas of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribe and Alissa Dragan, supervising environmental analyst at the state Department of Agriculture Bureau of Aquaculture, discuss ways to improve access to shellfishing grounds for his and other tribes in Connecticut after his talk at the Annual Gathering of Shellfish Commissions on Feb. 3.Some of the 80 students who participated in the the LEARN Sustainers of the Sound program supported by CT Sea Grant look from the beach at the Avery Point campus during a scavenger hunt activity. The Dec. 13 program included fish painting and a lesson on Long Island Sound.A vessel carrying components for the South Fork offshore wind project passes behind Pine Island offshore from the Avery Point campus on Dec. 13.Ralph Lewis, state geologist emeritus, talks about the coastal geology section he wrote for the CTSG book "Connecticut's Sandy Shores" during a book launch and signing event on Nov. 29.Ulysses Hammond, interim executive director of CT Port Authority, points to components of the South Fork wind farm being stage at State Pier in New London during a Nov. 20 tour of the site for about 15 people, including CTSG Director Sylvain De Guise, third from left, and other CTSG staff members.Commercial fishermen practice cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills on a mannequin during first aid training class hosted by CT Sea Grant on Oct. 24, 2023.Group photo of volunteers who cleaned Rocky Neck State Park with bags of trashStudents launch kayaks from the UConn Avery Point campus during the "Messing About in Boats" event on Sept. 15.Volunteer Bobbi Brown, left, shows Anthony Leggitt, 5, how to cast a fishing rod during the CT Sea Grant-Groundwork Bridgeport "Let's Go Fishing" event Aug. 19 on Knowlton Park on the Pequonnock River.The CT Sea Grant-NOAA Milford Lab booth at the Milford Oyster Festival Aug. 19 drew dozens of visitors to play a shell matching game and see a touch tank with scallops and oysters.Lisanne Winslow of East Haven picks up a plastic bottle in the Long Wharf Nature Preserve in New Haven during the Aug. 12 cleanup kicking off the 2023 #DontTrashLISound campaign.The vessel L/B Jill, a construction vessel being used to support the South Fork Wind offshore wind farm off Long Island, is seen from Waterford Town Beach on July 30. The vessel was moored in Long Island Sound for a few days due to an incoming storm.Tessa Getchis and Mike Gilman represented CT Sea Grant at the Blessing of the Fleet in Stonington on July 30. Hundreds of people turned out for the annual event that included a Mass, parade, ceremony, food and music.A great blue heron looks over the waters of Long Island Sound just offshore from the UConn Avery Point campus, where CT Sea Grant is headquartered.Chris Menapace, director of education for Discovering Amistad, describes how shackles were used on the Amistad during a visit to the replica slave ship by CTSG staff as part of DEI learning activities. Associate Director Nancy Balcom, left, was joined by eight other staff members at the New London pier where the original ship was once docked.Members of the Avery Point EcoHusky Club, bottom right, make seed bombs for a fellow student at the campus Earth Day festival on April 19. Behind them CT Sea Grant staff share information about shell recycling.Research Coordinator Syma Ebbin, second from right, leads a tour of the Blue Heritage Trail and CT NERR sites as part of the Northeast Sea Grant Conference hosted by CT Sea Grant March 14-16. About 100 staff from NE Sea Grant programs participated.UConn Avery Point EcoHusky Club members and Syma Ebbin, 3rd from left, faculty advisor and CTSG research coordinator, gather at a campus building with solar panels and a small wind turbine installed thanks to the club’s work.A truck drives through floodwaters on a street in Groton, as town crews clear debris left by high tide. Heavy rains Dec. 22 and 23 left several areas flooded along the CT coast, where rising sea levels and intensifying storms are increasing the need for CTSG resilience projects.Fishermen in immersion suits practice getting into a life raft during Safety and Survival training in October 2022.Dr. Camille Gaynus, board chair of the professional organization Black in Marine Science, talks about marine science careers and the need for diversification and participation in these fields with students at the Sound School in New Haven last week as part of a project with the West River Watershed Partnership, Project WET, CT Sea Grant and CT DEEP.Far right, one of the 8 portable refrigeration units provided to small- to medium-sized oyster farmers this spring to enable them to directly sell their shellfish to customers at docks, farmers markets and festivals such as this one at Stonington Vineyards on Sept. 17.CT Sea Grant Director Sylvain De Guise was one of several speakers at an Aug. 8 event at Ash Creek in Fairfield announcing the Connecticut Shellfish Restoration Guide.Mark Phegley, left, QCW sign maker for UConn, directs student employees John Poland, center, and Braden Gutierrez in the positioning of a Connecticut Blue Heritage Trail sign at Bluff Point State Park on June 9. The trail is a project of CTSG, UConn and CT DEEP.David Carey, left, and Matt Bartel of the state Bureau of Aquaculturefill bags with oyster shell piled at Hammonassett Beach State Park that will be moved to oyster restoration areas in Branford and Bridgeport as part of a 2022 project with CT Sea Grant.UConn Marine Sciences Professor Hannes Baumann, left, and Connecticut Sea Grant Director Sylvain De Guise unveil a public outreach sign about endangered Atlantic sturgeon at Hammonassett Beach State Park on May 7.CTSG Aquaculture Extension Specialist Tessa Getchis, left, Kristin DeRosia-Banick of the state Bureau of Aquaculture and Clinton Shellfish Commission Chairman Wayne Church examine an oyster bed in the Hammock River on June 15 as part of shellfish bed assessments along the shoreline this summer.Lindsey Kollmer, CT River River Estuary Aquatic Invasive Plant Steward, pulls invasive water chestnut from Selden CoveCrew members of Pot Luck, a vessel owned by Sam Fernandez of Sam's Seafood, sort clams from oysters as part of a restoration of natural shellfish beds near Bridgeport on June 10.New Britain YWCA summer campersStudents in the “Global One Health: U.S. and Irish Perspective” class at UConn see kelp harvested from J.P. Vellotti’s beds in Groton as part of a visit to the Noank Aquaculture Cooperative on May 16 organized by CT Sea Grant.
Cover of 2023 CT Sea Grant Annual Report

2023 CT Sea Grant Annual Report summary now available

The fiscal 2023 annual report summary, which presents an overview of CT Sea Grant funding, research investments and projects in fisheries and aquaculture; environmental literacy; workforce development; resilient communities; and coastal ecosystems and watershed is now available.

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screenshot from video about hydroponics farm

Hydroponics featured in new CT aquaculture video

This week’s featured video is “The Art of Hydroponics: Growing Fish and Fresh Vegetables.” Meet Rob Torcellini of Bigelow Brook Farms who grows a variety of greens, herbs and other vegetables and ornamental carp.

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Cover of Fall-Winter 2023-2024 issue of Wrack Lines magazine

Upcoming Events

  1. Mar 19 Foundations of Shellfish Farming 2024 5:30pm
  2. Mar 19 Coastal Perspectives Lecture 7:30pm
  3. Mar 21 Sustainable & Resilient Communities Funding Workshop-Western CT 9:30am
  4. Mar 22 National Seaweed Hub Webinar Series 4:00pm
  5. Mar 26 Foundations of Shellfish Farming 2024 5:30pm
All Events »