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Tool Development of Aquaculture Farm Management

Description:

A compelling case can be made for increasing scientific and technical knowledge for aquaculture to produce safe and nutritious seafood in the United States, create new jobs from the coastal communities to the agricultural heartland, foster sustainable aquaculture practices, and enhance or restore wild fisheries and habitats. The U.S. has bountiful freshwater and marine natural resources, plentiful feed grains, adequate aquaculture research infrastructures, and excellent scientists, pioneers, and entrepreneurs to drive innovation. The seafood supply chain ranges from farmers and fishermen to upstream and downstream industries (feed and equipment manufacturing, harvesting processing, distribution, and retail outlets) to consumers. A dramatic increase in domestic aquaculture is needed to complement well-managed wild-harvest fisheries and help meet the growing demand for seafood, a food source high in healthful protein and omega-3 fatty acids with many essential vitamins and minerals. Currently cost effective tools to track seafood safety from harvest to plate are not readily available to farmers. By investing in low cost farm management tools, farmers would be able to bring their product to market in many ways - from direct farm sales to commercial sales. Projects could range from app development to allow for inventory system of shellfish on a farm (sizes, locations, harvest availability); real time tracking of toxic blooms and real time analysis of project on farms that is cost efficient to allow for direct sales; cost effective tools to track temperature of aquaculture projects from farm to table; etc.
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