U.S. Senator Jack Reed talks aquaculture with Peter August, left, director of the URI Coastal Institute and Robert B. Rheault, right, president of Moonstone Oysters at a press conference held Monday. Photo by Sam Bari U. S. Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) announced a $400,000 boost for the Rhode Island aquaculture industry at a press conference Monday at the town docks in Wickford.

Reed was joined by Robert Rheault, president of Moonstone Oysters, and Peter August, director of the URI Coastal Institute, when he made the announcement. Reed secured more than $400,000 in federal funding in the 2008 appropriations spending bill for the East Coast Shellfish Research Initiative and the Natural Resources Conservation Service's (NCRCS) shallow water soil mapping study.

"We all understand how important Narragansett Bay is to the state," Reed said. "Harnessing the bay and its potential is one of the challenges we face." Sustainable aquaculture is good for the environment and good for our economy, he said, adding that aquaculture is a growth industry that realized a 30-percent increase in business since last year.

Rheault, who is also president of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association as well as Moonstone Oysters, mirrored Reed's assessment of the RI shellfish industry. He said the harvest was approximately one-third the value of the state's wild-clam fishery. He also said that the industry went from $200,000 in 1997 to better than $1.5 million last year.

Reed, a member of the Appropriations Committee said, "This federal funding will help researchers answer critical questions and allow continued growth and development of the industry." He also said that the funds will bolster the ability of the Rhode Island aquaculture industry to penetrate foreign markets.

A press release from Reed's office said that $261,159 of the federal funding will be used to partner with university researchers to conduct studies that will help the East Coast shellfish aquaculture industry attain the goal of doubling production in 10 years while creating as many as 500 full-time jobs.

August, who is one of the researchers, said that mapping soil underneath the water is just as important for the aquaculture industry as it is for farmers who grow crops on land. "It's exactly the same underwater," August said. "Certain soils are better for raising shellfish than others. It is vital to the industry that we provide the information it needs."

Soil under water can be mapped and analyzed by computer imaging and other methods that were not previously available, August said, adding that the government has been analyzing soil for farmers for years, but they "stopped where the ocean hit the land." He explained the importance of soil mapping for the aquaculture industry and how shellfish farms will benefit from the research.

According to Reed, a lack of detailed information about the soil and sediment of submerged land has placed major limitations on our management and conservation activities. The East Coast Shellfish Research Initiative was formed to increase public awareness of shellfish aquaculture activities through research, education, and outreach.

The $400,000 Reed secured will be used to develop methods for soil mapping in coastal waters, and to test for levels of metals as well as bacteria that could prove harmful to Rhode Island shellfish.