Participants in the National Seaweed Symposium gather near one of the exhibits at the Seaweed Showcase on the second day of the event.Members of the state's municipal shellfish commissions gathered for the 16th annual meeting on Jan. 11.Students in the 2019 Coastal Certificate classes gather after a graduation event Oct. 13 with Judy Preston, bottom center, who leads the program at CT Sea Grant.New Britain YWCA summer campersUniversity of Delaware student Samuel Koeck, center, and Sacred Heart University students Jeffrey Young, right, and Adrian Nelson, second from left, work with Chris Hauser (in mini-excavator) to improve the living shoreline at Stratford Point in a project jointly funded by CT and DE Sea Grants.Passengers walk toward the docks at the Maritime Aquarium in Norwalk after the July 26 On-the-Water Workshop aboard Spirit of the Sound.Sea Grant dayak fleet takes to the Mystic River on July 3 to test out a new aquaculture eco-tour being developed in partnership with Adventure Mystic, Mystic Oysters & Connecticut Cultured Oysters.Passengers get off the Volsunga IV on the dock at Outer Island during an On-the-Water Workshop in Branford on June 7.Maria Cruz, second from right, and her family look for clues during the Thames River Quest at Fort Trumbull State Park sponsored by CT Sea Grant and the Thames River Heritage Park.Shad is cooked on planks around a fire at the Essex Annual Shad Bake.Students 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.Volunteers from the Avalonia Land Conservancy move a shad bush into place for planting at the Dodge Paddock Beal Preserve in Stonington on May 3 as part of a restoration and living shoreline project with Connecticut Sea Grant.Karen Wynn of Guilford, left, looks at "They Came By Water," one of the pieces in the "Crosscurrents" exhibit, with Kam Ghaffari of East Lyme. Behind them is "Sea Form" another of the works in the show.Nissrine Essafi, a student in the Climate Corps class taught by CT Sea Grant's Juliana Barrett and Bruce Hyde, shows a map of Charleston, S.C., during a presentation of a project about sea level rise impacts.Early results show sand lance larva, shown in closeup, are particulary sensitive to higher levels of carbon dioxide. Photo courtesy of Hannes BaumannThe team from the Science and Technology Magnet High School of Southeastern Connecticut won the 22nd Annual Quahog bowl.
Marc Harrell, manager of Mystic Oysters, checks on brood stock oysters at the Noank Aquaculture Cooperative on Thursday. While most operations have stopped at the co-op, the brood stock tanks have to be maintained, he said.

Response launched for severely impacted aquaculture sector

March 26, 2020

Sales revenue for Connecticut aquaculture producers fell an average of 93 percent in February and March compared to the same period in 2019, and 70 percent of the workforce employed in shellfish, seaweed and finfish farming operations have been laid off due to impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

[Read More]

More aquaculture producers urged to respond to survey

March 23, 2020

While nearly half of Connecticut aquaculture businesses have already completed a survey released on March 23, Connecticut Sea Grant and the state Department of Agriculture on March 24 urged those who had not yet responded to do so as soon as possible.

[Read More]