About

Aquaculture Program Aquaculture Program

As worldwide demand for seafood products expands and more restrictions are placed on the harvesting of wild populations, aquaculture can help supply the demand.

While freshwater aquaculture is a large and well-established industry in the U.S., land and freshwater resources and suitable species for traditional pond-based aquaculture are becoming increasingly scarce.

Marine aquaculture, or mariculture, has the potential to increase the supply of farm-raised fish products and to help feed more people.

Increasing public awareness of the need to protect our fragile environment will require the development of marine aquaculture systems that are ecologically and socially sound.

Aquaculture in NC

North Carolina, with its rich marine resources, strong tradition based in agriculture and fishing, and commitment to research and development of marine biotechnology, is poised to play a leading role in developing the mariculture industry.

For the mariculture industry to thrive, the following are needed:

Hatchery technologies that can supply high-quality fingerlings to grow-out operations. Marine finfish have complex early life stages, and reliable methods must be developed to produce large numbers of quality fingerlings to support grow-out farms.
Intensive grow-out technologies for producing marketable size fish that mitigate high cost of coastal land and environmental permitting requirements.

UNCW established the aquaculture program to address these needs and to use our strategic location in coastal North Carolina and its Center for Marine Science to teach environmental responsibility in conjunction with mariculture technology development.

The goals are to develop and transfer to commercial users cost-effective, environmentally sound technologies for marine food production and to mitigate depletion of marine populations through commercial cultivation or stock enhancement.

Program Tenets

Research

Research involving controlled experiments and publication of results, so that they are accessible to the local farmer, as well as to researchers and policy makers throughout the world.

Learn more about the UNCW Aquaculture Program's current research.

Multidisciplinary Approach

Multidisciplinary Approach through collaboration among scientists with a broad range of expertise from UNCW’s Center for Marine Science, with NCSU, and with other national and international laboratories.

Learn more about UNCW Aquaculture Program's means of support and cooperating scientists.

Education

Education through involvement of undergraduate and graduate students through internships, directed individual studies, or thesis research in conjunction with ongoing research and commercial demonstration projects. Formal courses in Mariculture are also offered through the Department of Biology and Marine Biology.

Community Outreach & Technology Transfer

Community Outreach and Technology Transfer through public tours and presentations, workshops, and direct cooperation with commercial fishermen and commercial users in the aquaculture industry.