September 12, 2023 — Sea Grant is one of aquaculture’s best partners in the U.S. Founded in 1966, it is a joint effort of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and 34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state, plus Puerto Rico and Guam.
In a world of lobbyists and people tied to screens, Sea Grant stands out for its commitment to unbiased science and real-life connection.
One of its greatest assets is the broad array of women in its ranks. These scientists, lawyers, public outreach experts, educators, and other specialists thrive as an exchange, providing access to science and also transferring the priorities of various stakeholders, from aquaculture producers to local residents, back to their universities. Ultimately, their goal is to support sustainable seafood production, economic growth, and environmental stewardship through research, extension, and education.
Driving innovation
Among Sea Grant’s research initiatives have been those that invest in creating new technologies that will lead aquaculture forward. In the lab, for example, one project assessed hatchery apparatus to enhance availability of seaweed seedstock. In the field, another designed and built an open-ocean integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) platform to grow steelhead trout, blue mussels, and sugar kelp.
Lilian Elekwachi, a PhD candidate and teaching assistant at the University of Massachusetts Boston, was selected this year for the prestigious Knauss Fellowship Program. One of 84 fellows, in February she joined the Office of System Architecture and Advanced Planning in Washington, DC, which collaborates with U.S. Government agencies, international partners, and industry to leverage technology to meet NOAA mission needs.
Elekwachi is visiting ocean farmers nationwide to document the needs they have that technology might solve. “Each state has a unique challenge,” she said. But she sees big opportunities for technology to monitor fish health and water quality.
That was not the case in her native Nigeria, where most of the work was manual. Still, at 24, she started a successful catfish farm where she fed, harvested, slaughtered and smoked the fish. When she returns to Massachusetts to continue her doctorate after her year-long fellowship, her goal is to perfect a hybrid solar/smoking technology that will be safe, climate-friendly, and cost-efficient.