Oops!

Dr. Steven Summerfelt was interviewed by Hans Fogle of Panhandle Live on WEPM 1340 AM. Our closed-system aquaculture research was also mentioned on a Kojo Nnamdi segment on sustainable seafood.

On Friday, April 13, 2012, West Virginia Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito visited with Dr. Steven Summerfelt at the Freshwater Institute to learn about our ongoing research to produce healthy, safe, and nutritious fish in the United States. Followup articles were published in the Shepherdstown Chronicle on April 20 and the Spirit of Jefferson on April 25.

Article titled "Closed-containment salmon-farming project paying environmental, economic, culinary dividends" in the April 5, 2012 edition of SeaFood Business magazine mentions our Atlantic salmon research. Click here to read the article.

Wildwood Middle School students have been busy this past year answering the question, "Can Brook Trout Return Home to Jefferson County?" See their website and blog for details about what they have been learning.

Joseph Hankins spoke at a forum exploring a variety water related issues from regional to local and from supply to quality. The forum was sponsored by The Jefferson County Chapter of the League of Women and held at Shepherd University on Wednesday, March 14, 2012.

John Davidson's research on the effect of high nitrate levels on Rainbow Trout in Recirculating Aquaculture Systems is highlighted in YSI's February newsletter and Application Note 597. Click here to view the pdf on YSI's website.

On January 11, 2012, Dr. Steven Summerfelt, attended the “Future of Fish” strategic gathering in Indiana that aimed to advance the knowledge of best practices in the Aquaculture Industry across the U.S. Together with representatives from Bell Aquaculture, the Indiana Soybean Alliance and Virginia Cobia Farms, they discussed ongoing collective efforts to provide healthy, great-tasting and ecologically responsible fish options for consumers.

Designed by engineers at the Freshwater Institute to reduce its environmental impact, Bell Aquaculture’s new closed-containment system construction added an additional 450 metric ton of production. The new water recirculating systems minimize water use, maximize waste capture, and practically eliminate disease interaction between farmed and wild fish. The Freshwater Institute’s Director of Aquaculture Systems Research, Steven Summerfelt noted: “We’re committed to producing safe seafood and healthy fish while capturing waste products and recycling water. The production systems we designed for Bell Aquaculture maintain ideal water quality for yellow perch while operating on less than one-half of one percent of the water required to produce the same weight of fish in more traditional production systems.”

Bell plans to expand with an additional 500 metric ton production system in 2012 with the help of the Freshwater Institute.

Click here for the press release.

The Conservation Fund's Freshwater Institute wins a portion of monthly sales from the Farmers are Cool website. www.facebook.com/farmersarecool. December 1, 2011.

The Conservation Fund’s Freshwater Institute is benefiting from a donation of technology and expertise from YSI, a developer and manufacturer of water quality monitoring and testing equipment. Freshwater is using the donation to grow healthily populations of salmon and trout on land. Click here for more information. www.conservationfund.org. November 15, 2011.

Culinary teams from the medical center’s Nutrition and Food Service (NFS) and Veteran Canteen Service collaborated to prepare a meal for approximately 500 Veteran inpatients, outpatients, and staff."A Taste of Appalachia." www.martinsburg.va.gov. October 24, 2011.

Approximately 1,000 additional trout have been donated by the Freshwater Institute in West Virginia."State's fishermen will find more places to catch trout than last year." baltimoresun.com. October 8, 2011.

The Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Conservation Fund have recently announced a new partnership to grow Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) in a commercial-scale freshwater closed-containment recirculating system at the Freshwater Institute in Shepherdstown, WV. Details of the partnership are summarized in the June 23, 2011, FISHupdate article "New Closed Containment Research Important to Saving Wild Salmon.".

Dr. Brian Vinci will be presenting on growout of Atlantic salmon in recirculating systems at a special workshop titled "RAS for the Production of Salmon" being held at the International Research Institute of Stavanger (http://www.iris.no/) on August 15, 2011. Dr. Summerfelt will be presenting at the European Aquaculture Society meeting at the AquaNor forum on August 17, 2011.

With funding provided through the Rockymarsh Run Watershed Restoration project, the Freshwater Institute's partner, Trout Unlimited, brought 25 students out to plant trees along Rockymarsh Run. "Students Participate in Tree Planting Restoration Project." The Journal. November 4, 2010.

"Recirculating water systems used for fish production." Fish Information & Services. October 22, 2010.

"USDA and Freshwater Institute working on improving closed system aquaculture." Seafood.com. October 20, 2010.

As part of a team with The Conservation Fund's Strategic Conservation program, Michael Schwartz is helping to identify mitigation opportunities for endangered aquatic species. The project was featured in the Wall Street Journal article, "A Path to Simpler Permits." October 18, 2010.