A joint NCCOS and Maryland Sea Grant project that estimates the nutrient-removal benefits to the Chesapeake Bay provided by oyster aquaculture was highlighted in the Bay Journal last week.The project included partnering with Maryland oyster growers to study the potential role of oyster filter feeding as a nutrient management tool and the value of that service that might be paid to oyster growers within an emerging state-run nutrient trading program.

The article goes on to describe the value of the National Sea Grant Program, which in 2015 had an economic impact of $575 million and created or sustained more than 20,000 jobs and 2,900 businesses. While NOAA funds the Sea Grant Program, the 33 states where programs exist also contribute funds to support research projects that often benefit industry and state and local stakeholders. In Maryland, for example, when the state began developing a nutrient credit trading program in 2010, oyster farmers pushed to get oysters included in the trades.

Suzanne Bricker of NOAA (second from left) and Matt Parker of Maryland Sea Grant (far right) collect oysters for tissue analysis back in the lab. Credit: Dave Harp, Bay Journal.

Nationally, Sea Grant projects are critical to improving the health of coastal ecosystems, supporting sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, building resilient communities and economies, improving environmental literacy, and developing the next generation of science and technology students.The Bay Journal is published monthly by Bay Journal Media, and has a print circulation of 50,000.

For more information, contact Suzanne.Bricker@noaa.gov.