The primary goal of the 2019/2020 peconic BAY scallop fishery disaster spend plan submitted by the new york state department of environmental conservation (nysdec) is to utilize these federal disaster…

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awarded a $796,133 Project Grant under the Fisheries Disaster Relief program (CFDA 11.477) to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) for a collaborative research project to optimize restorative breeding and develop genetically superior scallop stocks to facilitate the recovery of bay scallop populations in the Peconic Estuary. The research project, to be conducted by Stony Brook University and Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County Marine Program, will include tasks such as characterizing scallop genetic diversity, enhancing hatchery infrastructure, selective breeding activities, nursery operations, field and laboratory evaluations of selectively-bred stocks, and developing a scallop SNP array for low-cost genotyping. The project aims to support the recovery of the Peconic Bay scallop fishery, which has experienced significant adult scallop die-off events. The grant has a performance period from January 1, 2025 to December 31, 2028.

The primary goal of the 2019/2020 peconic BAY scallop fishery disaster spend plan submitted by the new york state department of environmental conservation (nysdec) is to utilize these federal disaster funds to support a collaborative research project that proposes to optimize restorative breeding through the development of genetically superior scallop stocks to facilitate the recovery of BAY scallop populations in the peconic estuary. This research project will be conducted collaboratively by stony brook university (SBU) and cornell cooperative extension of suffolk county marine program (CCE) who have been directly involved with research, disease diagnostics, scallop breeding and grow-out, restoration, and biological and environmental monitoring in peconic bays for the past fifteen years and more recently, during the adult scallop DIE-off events. Debra barnes, chief, nysdec bureau of shellfisheries, will serve as the project manager and act as a liaison with SBU and CCE to ensure the effective overall management and completion of the project. The research will be done by both laboratory and field evaluations completed through a series of seven (7) tasks. These include: 1. Characterization of scallop genetic diversity; 2. Enhance hatchery infrastructure for multi-cohort breeding; 3. Selective breeding activities; 4. Nursery activities; 5. Field evaluation of selectively-bred stocks; 6. Lab evaluation of selectively-bred stocks; 7. Develop and validate a scallop SNP array for low-cost genotyping. The full research proposal is included in appendix II. Of the spend plan.