The mobile aquaculture lab, a project of CT Sea Grant and UConn Extension, can be transported to various sites for training and demonstrations.
Clayton McGoldrick, CT Sea Grant lab technician, shows some of the spools of kelp grown in the mobile aquaculture lab.
Zach Gordon, CT Sea Grant extension educator, shows teachers how seaweed is grown in the mobile aquaculture lab during a fall 2025 workshop.
Story of the mobile lab
In April 2024, a mostly unfurnished 8-by-8-by-14-foot trailer arrived at the UConn Avery Point campus in Groton, basically a blank canvas that would soon be outfitted into a unique facility designed to nurture the aquaculture industry.
The mobile lab was purchased as part of a $200,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and over the next several months outfitted with the equipment for growing sugar kelp, a seaweed native to New England, and for training seaweed farmers.
The lab has been used to successfully grow kelp, for teacher workshops, trainings and demonstrations. CT Sea Grant is now looking to expand its use into shellfish aquaculture projects.

