FY 2011 expenditures: $245,858

FY 2012 budget: $409,175

The farming of aquatic animals and plants, one of the fastest growing segments of US and global agricultural economies, is an ecological imperative as natural fisheries are over-exploited. In order to meet our increasing demand for seafood and ease harvest pressure on natural fish stocks, aquaculture production must increase 100% over the next 25-30 years. Florida is the third largest aquaculture-producing state, yielding the greatest variety of aquatic organisms in the US, such as ornamental fish and plants, clams, shrimp, fish and alligators.

According to State of Florida legislation, funds from the Aquaculture specialty license plate can be used to:

• conduct scientific research on environmentally responsible and sustainable methods of farming freshwater and saltwater organisms such as fish, shellfish and crustaceans for food; biomedical species for pharmaceutical and nutriceutical compounds; and marine ornamentals for the aquarium trade
• expand the institution's educational programs that include secondary school field experiences, college degree programs and intensive courses in order to further the objective of increasing aquaculture's contribution to the state's economy

FY 2012 ALLOCATIONS

Postdoctoral Investigator

For many researchers, the first career step after earning a doctorate degree is the postdoctoral fellowship – a temporary appointment that provides early-career scientists and engineers with the opportunity to begin exploring their fields, and sponsoring institutions with fresh energy and perspective that can help advance science. Aquaculture license plate funds supported the two-year appointment (August 2010 - August 2012) of Dr. Holly Nance, a postdoctoral investigator who studied the effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill on genetic diversity and connectivity of Gulf Coast species with mentors Dr. Susan Laramore (FAU-Harbor Branch), Dr. John Scarpa (FAU-Harbor Branch) and Dr. Ed Proffitt (FAU).

Projects

The Florida Apple Snail: Culture, Enhancement, and Ecology

Principal investigator: Amber Garr

Since 2007, the Harbor Branch Florida apple snail program has used Aquaculture specialty license plate funds to study methods for culture and wild stock enhancement of the mollusc to foster survival of the endangered snail kite that feeds almost exclusively on the apple snail. The present project funds will enable the program to complete an ongoing stock enhancement field experiment at the Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge and to investigate the effects of invasive snails. Initiatives include evaluating the success of invasive snail sterilization as a means for population control and identifying the effects of invasive apple snails on the growth, survival, time to reproductive maturity, and reproductive output of native apple snails. These activities will address concerns expressed by wildlife managers regarding the need to understand both the positive and negative impacts of invasive snails on native populations.

 FY 2012 funding: $50,000

An Initiative to Design and Demonstrate a Prototype Integrated Multi-Trophic Aquaculture System for Sustainable Land-Based Aquaculture

Principal investigator: Paul Wills, Ph.D.

Co-principal investigator: Geoff Beiser

A basic integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA) system uses the waste products of one aquaculture process, such as fish culture, as a nutrient resource for other aquaculture products, such as plants or other aquatic animals. This two-year project links several components to establish a new concept for land-based IMTA featuring a centralized filtration system that delivers controlled volumes of selected pretreated waste streams to each system component. Fed fish will be the primary upstream component, and the viability of shrimp as an additional fed component will be tested. Downstream components that will be evaluated include sea urchins, oysters and macroalgae, which extract particulates and nutrients to enable water reuse. In year 1, aquaculture scientists and engineers will design and build a prototype of the system, combining the components for testing. In year 2, design changes based on the first year’s results will be incorporated to enable further testing. The proposed project will provide water-quality and design data demonstrating the feasibility of this approach to improve the sustainability of land-based aquaculture.

FY 2012 funding: $100,000; FY 2013 funding: $100,000

IMTA system component: Shrimp

Principal investigator: Susan Laramore, Ph.D.

FY 2012 funding: $50,000

IMTA system component: Oysters

Principal investigator: John Scarpa, Ph.D.

FY 2012 funding: $32,744

IMTA system component: Sea Urchins

Principal investigator: John Scarpa, Ph.D.

Co-Principal Investigator: Amber Garr

FY 2012 funding: $30,256

IMTA system component: Macroalgae

Principal investigator: Dennis Hanisak, Ph.D.

FY 2012 funding: $50,000

SELECTED FY 2011 OUTCOMES

Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Research – Molluscan (Bivalve)

Principal Investigator: John Scarpa, Ph.D.

Co-Principal investigator: Susan Laramore, Ph.D.

License plate funding enables renovation and maintenance of program assets used for aquaculture, ecological and physiological studies of clams and oysters, including systems, facilities and brood and microalgae stocks. We produced six publications, reports and presentations, the majority focusing on results from a two-year monitoring project involving two natural and one artificial oyster reefs in the Lake Worth Lagoon. The artificial habitat was found to be comparable to the natural reefs for oyster population recruitment, which supports the viability of restoration projects in the Lagoon.

FY 2011 expenditures: $54,040

Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Research ‐ Fish

Principal investigator: Paul Wills, Ph.D.

The primary focus of license plate-funded work was dissemination of study findings via seven manuscripts and presentations, with most detailing efforts to improve the quality and efficiency of recirculating aquaculture systems. Significant advances included characterization of improved methods for filtering and oxygenating system water.

FY 2011 expenditures: $18,062

Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Research ‐ Aquatic Animal Health

Principal investigator: Susan Laramore, Ph.D.

Understanding and protecting animal health is essential to aquaculture, and license plate funds support research on health, disease, reproduction and survival of shellfish and fish. We produced six presentations and manuscripts to report study findings including characterization of the parasites and bacteria found in Indian River and Lake Worth Lagoon oysters and clams.

FY 2011 expenditures: $67,337

Aquaculture and Stock Enhancement Research – Molluscan (Gastropod), Aquaculture Education

Principal investigator: Amber Garr

In addition to enabling culture of the Florida apple snail to enhance survival of the endangered snail kite, license plate revenue supports queen conch research and aquaculture education efforts. We hosted a regional meeting of the National Aquaculture Association, produced six manuscripts and presentations and initiated studies including a large-scale apple snail stock enhancement field experiment and sampling of Florida Keys queen conch to characterize heavy metal toxicities.

FY 2011 expenditures: $122,085