The first in an occastional series by David Bill, Restorative Aquaculture Program Director at NMI
Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI) is currently developing comprehensive educational, industry collaboration, and community outreach programming in Restorative Aquaculture.
Since the collapse of the New England ground fishing industry, the continuous threat of the diminishing global wild fish stocks, climate change impacts on food production, and community food security concerns, aquaculture offers some viable, responsible, and hopeful restorative solutions to these dire challenges.
On three separate days during the month of September 2021, the Northeast Maritime Restorative Aquaculture program assisted the Town of Fairhaven Shellfish Wardens propagate town shell fishing waters with brood stock quahog clams.
Contaminated quahog brood stock are transferred from areas in the Taunton River and then out planted into designated closed Town of Fairhaven transplant sites.
Fairhaven plants these shellfish for natural purification of town waters as well as propagation for permitted commercial and recreational shellfish harvesting. The transfer site is closed to public shell fishing from one to three years to ensure public health safety and to allow the quahogs to spawn. The adult quahogs generally have very high survival rates.
Fostering community benefit and supporting the Town of Fairhaven shell fishing initiatives are significant cornerstones of the Northeast Maritime Institute Restorative Aquaculture program.
To learn more, visit https://www.northeastmaritime.com
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