Hawai‘i to Receive Money for Aquaculture Improvement & Research

Sen. Brian Schatz

On Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2018, U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz announced that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will award $932,770 to the University of Hawai‘i’s (UH) Sea Grant College Program to fund two aquaculture programs that will help farm high value moi, as well as establish a new program that will integrate existing aquaculture research conducted by UH’s School of Ocean and Earth Science Technology and College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

“Aquaculture is an opportunity for both economic development and environmental leadership,” said Sen. Schatz, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee. “This research builds on Native Hawaiian cultural practices and continues to help us develop responsible ways to use our resources.”

 $182,955 will go towards developing methods for farming moi. This project complements research that will be done by this team on aquaculture of other Hawaiian species of fish.

 $749,815 will go towards establishing a new aquaculture program at UH that leverages and integrates Land Grant and Sea Grant research as well as to fund the Tuahine Aquaculture Research and Education Center, a state-of-the-art aquaculture demonstration center.

 The University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program is part of a national network of 32 programs that promote better understanding, conservation and use of coastal resources.