
USDA
Aquaculture Center Gets New HomeBy Sharon Durham August 31, 2001WASHINGTON, Aug. 31--A new
U.S. Department of Agriculture research
center for cool- and cold-water aquaculture was dedicated in West Virginia this
morning. USDAs Agricultural Research
Service operates the new National Center for Cool and Cold Water
Aquaculture (NCCCWA) in Leetown, W.Va. Sen. Robert Byrd was the keynote speaker for the dedication, and ARS
Administrator Floyd Horn was the master of ceremonies. The aquaculture industry is the fastest-growing agriculture commodity
in the United States, but domestic producers now provide only 10 percent of
U.S. seafood needs, Horn said. Also, the U.S. ranks only 10th in
the world in the value of production. These two statistics provide the impetus
for creating this research center. ARS, the USDAs chief scientific research agency, conducts research on
catfish at Stoneville, Miss., and on warm-water species at Stuttgart, Ark.
NCCCWA will focus on fish that are produced in water temperatures ranging from
39 to 68 degrees F. The centers research priorities include fish genetics
and breeding, health, nutrition and production. Scientists will focus initially
on trout and other salmonids, and plan to study other species later. The NCCCWA facility includes a tank/aquaria building of approximately 20,000
square feet and a laboratory and office complex of about 30,000 square feet.
The facility now has five scientists and five support staff. At full capacity,
12 full-time scientists and 18 support personnel will work at the facility. The U.S. Department of Interiors
Leetown Science Center (LSC) made land
available for the facility on the federally owned campus it occupies. This will
help the new center and the nearby
Freshwater
Institute in Shepherdstown, W.Va., to continue to collaborate on research
programs in the future. The new center will also allow ARS to develop new
collaborative programs with other state and national institutions and agencies
that conduct aquaculture-industry-linked research. Story contacts Sharon A Durham U.S. Department of Agriculture |