Saving Seafood

Grant aims to grow East Coast bay scallop aquaculture

October 26, 2026 — A $200,000 grant is helping researchers and commercial growers lay the groundwork for a domestic bay scallop aquaculture industry, with a focus on training East Coast growers and increasing access to hatchery-produced seed.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore (UMES) received the funding from the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center for a project aimed at expanding commercial-scale bay scallop production. The work will include hands-on training for oyster growers and hatchery personnel, developing new educational materials, and researching ways to improve seed transport and availability.

Bay scallops are native to Maryland waters, but commercial-scale bay scallop aquaculture remains largely undeveloped in the United States. Researchers see an opportunity to build on the East Coast’s existing shellfish aquaculture infrastructure and give growers another species to bring to market.

“It’s a very exciting project with a strong focus on industry,” said Dr. Stephen Tomasetti, principal investigator and director of the UMES Paul S. Sarbanes Coastal Ecology Center.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MARYLAND: $200,000 grant will go toward building bay scallop aquaculture

October 27, 2026 — The economic impact of the oyster aquaculture industry to the state of Maryland was an estimated $11.5 million in 2024, according to the University of Maryland Extension and Maryland Sea Grant.

Like oysters, bay scallops are native to Maryland waters, but unlike oysters, commercial-scale bay scallop aquaculture remains largely undeveloped in the U.S.

Researchers at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore are aiming to establish the foundations for a thriving domestic bay scallop aquaculture industry. A new $200,000 grant from the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center will help accelerate domestic bay scallop production by building a trained workforce and expanding seed availability.

Read the full article at the Daily State News

How Northeastern is helping shellfishers and diners of a New England speciality

October 26, 2026 —

It was a beautiful morning on the Parker River.

The sun peeked through the clouds from the previous weekend’s nor’easter, giving the golden marsh grasses an extra autumnal sheen.

Frenetic yellow-legged shorebirds took flight as the small boat navigated the curves of the meandering river, and even the looming Route One bridge could not mar the pastoral scene, as little traffic passed after the motor was cut and the boat drifted along the shoreline.

Unfortunately, Northeastern University graduate student Grace Abe was not exactly enjoying her surroundings. She had just sunk up to her knees in mud.

“I had it too easy with the first one,” Abe said, while prying a wooden box out of the mud.

The container that emerged was 1-foot-square and several-inches tall, made primarily of wood composite with a mesh screen on its top and landscaping fabric on its bottom.

It did not look too high-tech. In fact, it looked like it might contain a small pizza.

But for the last six months, the Beal Box – named after its inventor, University of Maine marine ecologist Brian Beal – had been sitting in the mud flat and acting as a nursery for an iconic and delicious New England species, the soft-shell clam.

“The soft-shell clam has been a staple fishery in New England for generations,” said David Kimbro, associate professor of marine and environmental sciences at Northeastern.

But the species is under pressure.

Read the full article at Northeastern Global News