Aquaculture is responsible for more than half of all seafood consumed globally. Worldwide aquaculture production increased 176 percent from 2000 to 2018, accounting for 46 percent of global fish production, but production in North America has decreased. Because of perceived environmental impacts, the United States, and California in particular, have not embraced aquaculture.
The San José State University aquaculture facility at MLML is working to change that. It is developing a rigorous foundation in the science and workforce training of sustainable aquaculture. An experiment by a recent MLML aquaculture class found that purple urchins—which currently are devouring large habitat-forming kelps and have been decimating kelp forests in California—could be brought into captivity and fed until they became commercially valuable. Within two months, the urchins produced eggs (or uni), a delicacy in sushi restaurants. This project, which was reported on National Public Radio, demonstrates that aquaculture could attract urchin fishermen to help solve the problem of disappearing kelp forests. Fisheries win, aquaculture practices win, and the kelp forests win.
Two recent projects at MLML highlight aquaculture’s restorative capabilities: both white abalone and native Olympia oysters are being cultured so that they can be returned into the wild to bolster failing populations.
About half as many young white abalone are being raised at the MLML facility as there are in the entire wild population of California. In two years, the abalone will be placed into the wild with the hope that they will help the endangered population recover. Olympia oysters from Elkhorn Slough in Monterey Bay are induced to spawn and the young are grown to sufficient size to be placed into the slough to enhance a population affected by poor water quality and habitat issues.
MLML also has been funded by California Sea Grant and the Ocean Protection Council to identify and culture California native seaweeds capable of reducing greenhouse gas production by ruminant livestock. Ruminants, primarily cows, produce nearly 30 percent of methane in the state. By adding just two percent of certain seaweeds to the diet of cows, methane production may drop by up to 80 percent. Working with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, MLML will determine which California native seaweed species best reduce methane in cows and study how best to propagate those seaweeds for large-scale production.
In addition, MLML has funding from the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to develop culture methods for a potential new aquaculture product, rock scallops. Most rock scallops consumed in the U.S. are from Japan and China. The development of farming techniques for native rock scallops would reduce the carbon footprint of shipping those scallops across the oceans and would allow us to buy local. This will involve creating new hatchery and nursery techniques, growing microalgae to feed these filter-feeders and experimenting with environmental conditions to formulate optimum growth.
Aquaculture could solve a number of emerging issues in California but it has to be done responsibly. MLML is developing new techniques and courses to (1) train the next generation of marine farmers to help with healthy food production, (2) reduce harmful greenhouse gases, (3) work with fisheries to improve their industry and (4) to use aquaculture to improve native populations.