Aquaculture research at COLSA

Aquaculture researchers at the UNH College of Life Sciences & Agriculture are investigating new and innovative methods of sustainable fishing, reducing prevalence of aquatic animal disease, and leveraging the many ecosystem services that marine life can provide. They're working closely with New Hampshire's growing fisheries industry to find solutions and tap new market opportunities, helping to advance sustainable aquaculture practices in the state, and lead industry-wide advancements.

Below, we've shared just some of those aquaculture research projects – and the researchers spearheading the work. We encourage you to explore and share!

Aquaculture Research at COLSA

Using Fish Physiology to Help Growers of Commercially Important Species

Optimizing culture conditions and strains is necessary to assure adequate growth and survival of fishes cultured for food and for stock restoration. This work is also important to understand and, in some cases, mitigate the impacts of adverse environmental conditions on wild fishes. Read more

Using Lumpfish in Aquaculture Production

UNH has been working with the New England aquaculture industry (salmon farmers in Maine and steelhead trout farmers in NH) to promote the use of Lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) as cleaner fish in salmonid cage culture to control parasitic sea lice. Read more

The Importance of Cultivated Eastern Oysters in Great Bay

Delicious eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) are a favorite food of New Englanders. In New Hampshire, they are commercially produced on farms and can be recreationally harvested from wild reefs in the Great Bay Piscataqua River estuary. Current UNH research explores best practices for cultivating oysters and quantifying the ecological roles played by both wild and aqua-cultured oyster populations. Read more

Farming and Restoration in Great Bay Estuary

Eastern oysters, or Crassostrea virginica, are cultivated widely along the North American Atlantic coast for commercial and restoration purposes. Like their wild brethren, farmed oysters are experiencing a multi-pronged assault that is affecting production and the ecosystem services they provide. Read more

COLSA Faculty Working in Aquaculture Research

COLSA Aquaculture researcher Elizabeth Fairchild
Elizabeth Fairchild

Research Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Aquaculture researcher Ray Grizzle working on oyster restoration in Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire
Raymond Grizzle

Research Professor of Biological Sciences

Ray.Grizzle@unh.edu; 603-862-5130

» The Grizzle Laboratory

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A photo of COLSA aquaculture researcher David Berlinsky.
David Berlinsky

Professor of Agriculture, Nutrition, and Food Systems

COLSA Students Engaged in Aquaculture Research

Learning how to use solutions-based research to protect oceans
Kennedy McGrath is a dual major in marine, estuarine and freshwater biology and sustainability with a minor in marine policy. Kennedy conducts research on marine plastic pollution, and she is currently being mentored by Taja Sims-Harper, a doctoral candidate in the marine biology Ph.D. program.
Microplastics and marine life in Great Bay
Taja Sims-Harper is a doctoral student in the marine biology Ph.D. program. She conducts research on microplastics in oysters and other marine life in Great Bay in the lab of Bonnie Brown, professor of ecological genetics and the chair of the department of biological sciences.
Studying the impact of invasive green crabs on shellfish in Great Bay Estuary
Kelsey Meyer is a doctoral student in COLSA’s biological sciences: marine biology Ph.D. program. She currently spends a lot of time traversing Great Bay in a small boat, collecting invasive green crabs, baiting traps and monitoring tiles for oyster spat.
Published research, an industry in peril
Mary Kate Munley '21 is a marine, estuarine and freshwater biology major who was one of the authors of a recently published study about the impact of “red tides” on Florida’s Gulf Coast on stone crabs.
Researcher Alyssa Stasse uses genetic techniques, such as genome and transcriptome sequencing, to determine differences between populations of eastern oysters.
A Lifelong Lover of Marine Animals Finds Her Calling
Mary Kate Munley '21 is driven to keep seizing opportunities and gaining the skills and knowledge she needs for a successful and rewarding career as a marine biologist.