Multispecies Aquaculture Demonstration Facility

Multispecies Aquaculture Demonstration Facility

Funding Agencies:
NOAA - Office of Construction
State of New Jersey - Commission on Science and Technology
Public Service Electric and Gas
Delaware River and Bay Authority

Background: Large numbers of jobs and new industries have been created by involving potential entrepeneurs in demonstration facilities. These facilities are analogous to the State Agricultural Experiment Station system in modern agriculture and high-tech zones around research centers such as Research Triangle Park, NC, Boston route 128 corridor, MA and Silicon Valley, CA, all developed from the demonstration = commercial development model.

New Jersey is uniquely situated to stimulate development of a multifaceted aquaculture industry using this approach. Existing ingredients essential for initiation and/or expansion of aquaculture in New Jersey include:

Proximity to large markets for aquatic recreation, food and pharmaceutical products.
Demand for fresh, healthful, wholesome fish and seafood.
Availability of adequate acreage and natural resources.
Adequate financing.
Presence of a major university with research, development and extension capability.

The major factors limiting development of aquaculture in the State are:

Regulation that was developed without recognition of aquaculture's needs.
Lack of a demonstration facility/farm where industry requested projects, extension services and training of aquaculturists can be coupled with a cutting-edge research and development program.

Approach: A multispecies approach offers many advantages over the single species operations in general use today. For example, the capability to culture a wide range of species allows concurrent development of candidates for future domestication as well as pursuing specific questions on those currently being aquacultured. Key advantages of this approach are:

Cost effectiveness: using one facility for many species reduces costs related to personnel, construction, capital equipment, land acquisition, etc.
Information transfer: ability to provide information, address questions and respond to industries request for new data on a broad range of issues and species is enhanced.
Scale and environment accommodation: responses to the disparate interests of small- and large-scale, fresh and saltwater, shellfish, algal and fish requirements can be integrated.
Water treatment: the use of filter-feeders, macroalgae and microalgae to improve water quality prior to discharge can be evaluated.
Water reuse: efficient water reuse by several species in sequence can reduce the water volume required per unit of final product and increase energy efficiency.
Environmental benefits: aquaculture is an environmentally friendly industry that can reduce harvest pressure on selected species and thus enhance natural resources.
Public benefits: the facility will serve as an information conduit to educate the public about the benefits of aquaculture, and provide an example of how degraded environments can be enhanced for other species. This is being designed at the MADF in context with nature trails for birders and environmental enthusiasts to demonstrate how aquaculture and wildlife can be compatible.

Collaboration: The Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences at Rutgers University and Cumberland County College are collaborating to establish an integrated aquaculture program. Rutgers will direct the demonstration and research components at the Multispecies Aquaculture Demonstration Facility (MADF) and Cumberland will emphasize training and education of prospective aquaculturists. Both institutions will emphasize outreach and technology transfer.

Current Status: In 1993, Governor Florio appointed a task force chaired by Secretary of Agriculture Arthur Brown and Mr. Greg Holt to draft an aquaculture development plan for the State of New Jersey. One year later, the New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (NJCST) committed $2 million to Rutgers University and Cumberland County College to construct a state aquaculture facility, the ATTC. PSE & G committed an additional $200,000. In 1995, Governor Whitman formally accepted the State of New Jersey Aquaculture Development Plan which called for the creation of an Aquaculture Office in NJDA and the ATTC at Rutgers University and Cumberland County College. In 1995, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration granted $4.6 million to RU and CCC to match the $2 million from the NJCST to construct the ATTC facility. Rutgers University produced a Business and Operating Plan for the ATTC in 1996 and dedicated the administration building in Cape May in 1997. Nearly simultaneously, the New Jersey legislature passed the Aquaculture Development Act (P.L. 1997, c.236) designating the ATTC as the State Facility for education and technology development and, in the following fiscal year, appropriated $200,000 to the NJDA for its Office of Aquaculture Development, an amount that was increased to $300,000 in 2000. In 1999, the legislature provided $250,000 to the ATTC to initiate the aquaculture program. In that same year, Rutgers University and Cumberland County College established an Industry Steering Board for the ATTC. Cumberland County College received additional funding for the development of a closed system freshwater facility from the Electric Power Research Institute. The Cumberland County College program was initiated in 2001, the building dedicated in 2004, and the first full year of production was 2005. The Rutgers MADF facility is expected to begin operations in the spring of 2008.