Saving Seafood

Milford laboratory working to make sure CT’s shellfish industry survives

August 23, 2022 — Thousands of people came to Milford this weekend for the Milford Oysterfest. They served up some 30,000 oysters, all grown in the water off Connecticut’s coast. As they enjoy those tasty shellfish, they may not know that, right nearby, scientists are constantly studying those oysters.

Just across the harbor is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service laboratory. The scientists working there try to make the shellfish industry thrive.

“Among our main projects are to improve the hatchery techniques so that it’s more effective and dependable to have shellfish seed to plant,” explained Dr. Gary Wikfors, Aquaculture Sustainability Branch Chief of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Shellfishing is a $30 million industry in Connecticut, and Connecticut’s senior senator wants to see more funding to study it.

Read the full story at WTNH

 

CONNECTICUT: Murphy secures more federal funds for Milford fisheries lab

April 22, 2016 — MILFORD, Conn. — U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy said that a subcommittee’s appropriations bill approved Thursday includes more than $20 million in federal funds for Long Island Sound programs, and $200 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which has a research lab in Milford.

Murphy is a member of the appropriations subcommittee of the U.S. Senate committee on Commerce, Science, Justice, and Related Agencies. The funding, in the fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, “would support critical aquaculture research and improve regulatory permitting that supports over 700 local jobs and helps to improve the health of Long Island Sound,” Murphy said.

The Milford Lab is one of just two NOAA labs nationwide supporting aquaculture research, he said. The subcommittee bill “includes language addressing concerns around staffing changes and funding cuts at Milford Lab,” Murphy said in a prepared statement.

Read the full story at the Stamford Advocate