September 13, 2023

USDA invests in seafood innovation, four projects receive US$13 million in grants

The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has unveiled its latest round of small business research and technology grants totalling US$13 million, which aims to foster innovation in the agriculture sector while bolstering local and national food systems, SeafoodSource reported.

Chavonda Jacobs-Young, USDA Chief Scientist and Under Secretary for Research, Education, and Economics said that science-based innovations from federally funded research, often developed through public-private partnerships, create products and services that increase productivity and enhance global competitiveness for the US agriculture sector.

Among the 76 awardees, four pioneering projects in seafood and aquaculture have received funding:

1. Evergreen Aquatics (Washington): The company secured US$175,000 to advance burbot, a freshwater fish akin to cod, as a commercially viable aquaculture species. This funding will aid Evergreen Aquatics in enhancing survival rates and viability during the fish's early life stages, with the ultimate goal of benefiting aquaculture farmers.

2. EmergingDx (Massachusetts): Awarded US$181,000 to develop a cost-effective diagnostic platform for detecting flavobacterium psychrophilum in salmon aquaculture. This pathogen poses significant challenges to salmon farming, and EmergingDx aims to create a device capable of detecting it and averting vertical transmission.

3. Sherlock Biosciences (Massachusetts): The company received US$175,000 to pioneer CRISPR-based diagnostics applicable to aquaculture. This innovative approach promises to be both cost-effective and rapid, with applications in the field. Sherlock Biosciences' initial focus will be on the white spot syndrome virus, a disease impacting shrimp farms worldwide.

4. Pacific Hybreed (Washington): US$168,000 was awarded to Pacific Hybreed for its work on crossbreeding techniques to elevate farmed Pacific oyster production. The company believes hybrid oysters could lead to significantly increased yields, and the USDA funding will facilitate field trials involving various hybrid combinations.

The USDA has extended an invitation for applications for the next round of awards, with the deadline set for September 19.

-      SeafoodSource