Project abstract purpose: new and existing shellfish farms must comply with local, state and federal regulations that evaluate potential effects to the environment

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded the Pacific Shellfish Institute a $1.47 million Cooperative Agreement under the Sea Grant Support program (CFDA 11.417) effective September 1, 2025, through August 31, 2028. The agreement funds a comprehensive research initiative to document how native species interact with Pacific Coast shellfish farms across Washington, Oregon, California, and Alaska. The project team will employ multiple investigative methodologies—including time-lapse video analysis, environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding, acoustic telemetry, and on-site behavioral surveys—to characterize biological variability and species utilization patterns across different aquaculture types and seasonal conditions. Research will document organism behavior within farm environments, including transiting, foraging, and resting activities across fish, crabs, birds, and marine mammals, while comparing cultivated farm habitats to uncultivated reference sites.

The research directly supports shellfish aquaculture regulatory compliance by providing environmental impact data required for the current federal permitting framework. A focused acoustic telemetry study in Puget Sound will track tagged Pacific salmonid species over 12 months to assess migratory patterns and early-life-stage habitat associations with and without shellfish aquaculture presence. By generating empirical evidence on environmental interactions between aquaculture operations and native species, the project addresses identified information gaps that benefit both shellfish aquaculture businesses seeking regulatory approval and natural resource managers evaluating aquaculture expansion proposals across coastal regions.

Activities

The proposed research will document biological variability and behavior of native species using pacific coast shellfish farms across seasons, aquaculture types and growing regions using a multi-methods approach. The project team will leverage video data collected previously by the project team on oyster farms in washington, oregon and california and collect new data on farms in washington and alaska using time lapse video, edna metabarcoding, acoustic telemetry and observations from shellfish farms using a survey tool. These methods will enable collection or observations of a wide variety of organisms including species of fish, crab, birds and marine mammals, utilizing different types of shellfish farms compared to uncultivated reference habitats. Functional use of shellfish farms by animals observed on video will be described using behavior categories (transiting, foraging and resting). In addition, acoustic telemetry studies in puget sound, WA will shed light on migratory fish species use of nearshore estuarine habitat with and without shellfish aquaculture. This study will track tagged individuals over the course of 1 year, providing critical insights into the early life stages of pacific salmonid species and specific spatio-temporal associations with habitat and other environmental variables. Collectively, planned research studies support shellfish aquaculture businesses with regulatory compliance in the current permitting framework. Public perceptions of shellfish aquaculture can vary by region and may not always be in favor of proposed expansions. Most shellfish farms are within the viewshed of residents and the public. The project team will develop communication tools and strategies for shellfish producers to engage with their stakeholders to promote positive benefits of shellfish farms. These resources will be available online and distributed broadly through national and regional shellfish networks and associations. To improve aquaculture literacy of residents in communities with shellfish aquaculture, pacific shellfish institute and washington sea grant will CO-create and pilot classroom lessons and activities for middle and high school students (6-12TH grade) focused on ecosystem services of shellfish farms. Educational programs delivered during the project period will be free of charge. Lessons and related materials will be made publicly available online at WWW.pacshell.ORG and disseminated through regional summer teacher training workshops and to marine science educators at an annual conference.

Expected outcomes

Gaining support from the community is a necessity for long-term business success. Communicating how shellfish farms interact with the environment can foster public awareness, build trust and inform consumers, who can in turn support aquaculture development in their community. Furthermore, this project will advance relevant methods to characterize how shellfish farms interact with the environment, filling identified information gaps and enabling more efficient regulation.

Intended beneficiaries

Shellfish aquaculture businesses, natural resource managers and communities associated with shellfish farms.

Subrecipient activities

A subcontract will be administered to project partner wild salmon center to support acoustic tracking equipment costs and salary staff time for CO-PI james losee to assist our study team with acoustic tracking fish studies, data interpretation, analysis and manuscript preparation.