…Where they have built a successful breeding program benefitting Maine’s rebounding salmon farming industry
by Brian Robbins
FRANKLIN, ME – You could spend years driving Route 1 Downeast in Maine and never know what was happening on the shores of Taunton Bay, a couple miles or so inland. If you’re looking for the turn, there’s actually a small DOT sign that’ll direct you onto Taunton Drive, which wiggles off into the woods.
Other than that, there’s no hoopla; there are no big signs announcing “TURN HERE FOR AMAZING RESEARCH THAT BENEFITS COLD WATER AQUACULTURE.” There’s nothing of the sort.
Which, my friends, just goes to show you that some walk the walk and don’t spend a lot of time talking the walk.
The fact is, the US Dept. of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service (USDA/ARS) National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center (NCWMAC) and its neighbor, the University of Maine’s Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research (CCAR) don’t have a lot of time to talk, managing to get much work done with just a few sets of busy hands.
It comes as no surprise as I’ve seen it time and time again in my lifetime. Whether it be on a boat; on a dock; on a farm; in an office setting; or – in this case – in a pair of facilities dedicated to research to benefit the cold water aquaculture industry, a small crew made up of the right people will always get the job done.
And that’s what you need to know about the NCWMAC and CCAR operations: they’re getting the job done.
Both are certainly worthy of their own FFN feature; for this Aquaculture America 2014 issue, we’ve made the tough call to focus on the salmon research being done at NCWMAC, acknowledging this year’s show setting of Seattle, WA.
You’ll find highlights of what’s going on at the University of Maine’s CCAR facility in the sidebar on page 22. Down the road, we’ll plan on an expanded feature on their efforts.
Read the rest and much, much more in Issue 1, 2014 of Fish Farming News. Download access instructions so that you can read the online flipbook AND download a pdf copy for future reference.