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NAA Conducting USDA Regional Aquaculture Center Programmatic Review

Courtesy of NAA:

The National Aquaculture Association (NAA) proposed and has been funded by the US Department of Agriculture, National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), to conduct a programmatic review of the five US Department of Agriculture supported Regional Aquaculture Centers.

The Centers coordinate institutional resources with industry needs to fulfill their mission to support aquaculture research, development, demonstration and extension education to enhance viable and profitable U.S. aquaculture. The five Centers fund and oversee cooperative research, development and demonstration projects that directly address the concerns of US aquaculture community in their regions. The Centers are:

Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture located at University of Hawaii and encompasses America Samoa, Commonwealth of the North Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Guam, Hawaii, Palau, and Republic of the Marshall Islands.

North Central Regional Aquaculture Center located at Iowa State University and encompasses Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin.

Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center located at the University of Maryland and encompasses Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and West Virginia.

Southern Regional Aquaculture Center located at Mississippi State University’s Delta Research and Extension Center and encompasses Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, U.S. Virgin Islands and Virginia.

Western Regional Aquaculture Center located at the University of Washington’s School of Fisheries and encompasses Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming.

The NAA highly values the fundamental paradigm that undergirds the Centers. This paradigm consists of three interconnected efforts: farmer advisory committees, university or laboratory-based scientists, and aquacultural extension specialists. Functionality is achieved through farmers identifying, prioritizing and selecting research and demonstration projects conducted by scientists whose results are interpreted as actionable information for the farmer by extension specialists that bridge the gap, or extend that information, from the research community to the farming community. This structure is the envy of the world and for good reasons. This practice is an incredibly efficient way to target applied research and ensure it addresses critical bottlenecks faced by the farming community.

The NAA has engaged the services of a highly qualified review team, Dr. Carole Engle, Mr. Gary Fornshell, Dr. John Hargreaves and Dr. Gary Jensen, to complete the following activities over the next two years:

  • Analyze the funded projects at each Regional Aquaculture Center from 2014-2021.
  • Analyze investments against the Subcommittee on Aquaculture’s National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research (2014-2019).
  • Assess industry involvement in each Center and in Center funded projects and determine if: 1) investments address critical industry needs and 2) if findings are well disseminated to stakeholders.
  • Identify gaps and develop recommendations for future funding of regional aquaculture research that would provide the greatest benefit to US aquaculture.
  • Identify gaps and recommendations to increase efficiency and impact of individual regional aquaculture centers.
  • Create a technical report outlining the results of this comprehensive review.

The review team will work independently of the Centers and the NAA to complete the analysis, provide recommendations and write the technical report. The Team will conduct their work through virtual interviews and review of Center procedures and funded projects. Interviews will include Center staff and individuals that have worked with, or not worked with, the Centers to include farmers, researchers, and extension specialists. If you are contacted, please accept an interview invitation. Your participation and contribution to the review will be greatly appreciated. The NAA has contracted with Tony Vaught, Professional Aquaculture Services, to provide administrative support to the review team including scheduling virtual interviews.

For additional information, please contact Paul Zajicek, NAA Executive Director, at 850-216-2400 or naa@thenaa.net or Dr. Tim Sullivan, National Program Leader of Animal Production Systems, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, at Timothy.Sullivan@usda.gov.

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