OCTOBER 2020 Strategic Narrative Northeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture Center (NEMAC) Mussel Farm and Cat Cove Marine Labs Wes Newbury with Mark Huang and Morgan Bell ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 1 Executive Summary The United Nations Food & Agriculture particularly negatively impacted New England’s Organization (UN FAO) estimates that global seafood sector where the need for innovation is aquaculture sector in 2018 was at $263.6B. more acute and likely for the first time, the The annual growth rate of the aquaculture question of regional food security is not an sector varies by researcher and ranges from 5 abstraction in the US Northeast. to 11%. Humanity continues to demand more Salem University’s investment in the seafood proteins. Given that overfishing of the aquaculture including having the only New oceans and other natural resources is England offshore permitted aquaculture site in continuously increasing every year, humans US Federal waters as well as its strategic need alrternative sources for sefood to feed the location north of Boston on the Northshore of planets ever-growing population. Oceans can MA, is well positioned to play a critical role in no longer naturally provide the demand for the ‘Future of Aquaculture’ for the community seafood anymore. Aquaculture is a tool to fill in that is serves. In addition to the general market the gap of seafood supply and help meet growth and the question of the workforce of the humanity’s demand for more protien. Global future in aquaculture, venture based innovation aquaculture provides a plethora of is now starting to emerge in aquaculture. The opportunities and investors are beginning to market trend is analogous to what happened in recognize that. New England is well poised to be the Food & Agriculture sector ($19B of venture more of a significant player. The Gulf of Maine capital was invested in 2019). The investments Research Institute with the Maine Aquaculture can range from seaweed, alternative Association recently published a workforce aquaculture feed to applying digital development report outlining the steady growth technologies across the value chan. Oyster of the aquaculture and the skill gaps that exist Tracker, the Maine based startup that digitizes today. The Future of Aquaculture is creating the oyster supply chain is a member of both working class and STEM jobs for New SeaAhead and is an example of this new England’s coast communities. There is now an bluetech trend in New England. opportunistic window for Salem University. Strong, global market demand, a consumer that In the spring, Salem University’s Cat Cove wants more sustainable produced and healthier Marine Laboratory and SeaAhead had an initial food, the emergence of new aquaculture discussion regarding the future of the New sectors such as seaweed as well as an industry England Marine Aquaculture Center (NEMAC). value chain that is evolving and even possibly Before Covid-19, the NEMAC team was to disrupted through digitization from technology assign a Salem University summer student to and hardware advances. And Covid19 has develop a new strategic narrative concept for ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 2 Cat Cove. Due to the pandemic, Salem University agreed that SeaAhead would assist on this new strategic vision with Wes Newbury as the project lead. Wes Newbury was a summer intern at SeaAhead and is currently enrolled in the Master of Environmental Science and Management program at the University of California Santa Barbara’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. Wes is from the Northshore of Massachusetts and plans to return in the summer of 2021 after completing his graduate work. This report outlines a possible future strategy for Salem University in aquaculture. The recommendations are to: 1. Expand Research & Development to ​ include on shore, near shore and offshore testing infrastructure to address the need for more facilities to support non-Department of Defense seawater hardware testing as well as new aquaculture breeds and methods of growing. 2. Workforce Development: The ​ aquaculture sector is not only growing globally in size but there is a widening skillset gap for the Future of Aquaculture. 3. Off-shore Mussel Farming: Continued ​ work to include efforts to secure the necessary social license for New England’s first offshore aquaculture farm. All three of the above recommendations for Salem University can address a need from the coastal community, create new and resilient jobs and specifically tackle issues of widening United States income inequality that is also applicable in Northeast, MA. All the recommendations if pursued, would entail distinct fund raising paths from Federal and State public programs, regional foundations and industry. ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 3 Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 5 Background 6 Bluetech Open Innovation 14 and Its Role in New England 14 Recommendations 15 ACTION ITEM I 15 ACTION ITEM II 17 ACTION ITEM III 20 Strategic Partnerships 26 Funding and 28 Investment Alignment 28 Sample Grant Opportunities 31 Next Steps 33 Appendix A 34 ​ Appendix B 36 ​ Appendix C 37 ​ ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 4 Introduction Salem State University is one of the largest and the team was approved by USACE and a phased most diverse state universities in the approach to construction began on the first Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is an offshore aquaculture farm in the eastern United integral partner in the economic, cultural and States. intellectual vitality of the Greater Boston region. It is strategically centered 15 miles from Boston and Cambridge, one of the world epicenters in Cat Cove Marine Labs venture based technology innovation and on the Northshore of Massachusetts with its long Cat Cove is a historic property. In the marine history and related industry. nineteenth century, the site was a touristed beachfront where bathers could enjoy a Salem University is also the location of the saltwater pond without the hazards of the Northeastern Massachusetts Aquaculture exposed coastline. In the later part of the Center (NEMAC). Dr. Mark Fregeau and Mr. Ted twentieth century, the facility was used by the Maney, research professors of marine biology at Massachusetts’ Division of Marine Fisheries the university, direct a historic marine lab in the (DMF) as a shellfish testing facility. Salem Harbor. The lab is called Cat Cove and it is equipped with shellfish seeding facilities, The main lab building houses 5,500 square feet recirculating saltwater tanks, and its own of wet lab space including 36 tanks, ranging in saltwater cove with inflow/outflow controls. size from 40 to 850 gallons, with setup for Fregeau and Maney’s vision for Cat Cove is culturing of finfish or shellfish. Also in the main bigger than just another academic marine lab. lab are an environmentally controlled algal The two research professors envisaged their lab culture room, an analytical laboratory, a as a facility that could complement and support classroom and offices. All water entering the lab the first offshore aquaculture farm on this side is filtered and treated by UV units. Seawater is of the Atlantic. In 2012, their quest to identify distributed throughout the lab either at ambient and permit a farm site began with a $65,000 or adjusted temperatures. Seawater can be grant from NOAA. For Fregeau and Maney, this cooled or heated depending on seasonal 1 was an opportunity to provide an economic conditions or research requirements. A​ unique ​ alternative to a coastal economy ravaged by the aspect of the lab is the eight acre pond, known downturn of the local fishing industry. After as Smith Pool, on site. Connected directly to reviewing geospatial data for ideal offshore site Salem Harbor, the Smith Pool is continuously selection, Fregeau, Maney, and the NEMAC flushed through a series of three tidal gates. team applied for USACE permitting in 2013. The pool follows the normal tidal cycle, but in Two years later, their hard work paid off when times of storms the gates can be closed, ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 5 completely isolating the pool from the harbor. sea within the last fifty years. Their efforts to The lab maintains and oversees all activities in produce rather than extract food from the ocean the pool, allowing the lab staff to conduct field has formed one of the fastest growing food studies within a natural, controlled sectors in the world: aquaculture. environment.2 ​ NEMAC Team (PI and Support Staff) Background Global Aquaculture The annual global landing of wild-caught seafood has flatlined at 90-95 million pounds.3 ​ This average has not increased this century. Meanwhile, the percentage of fish stocks that 4 are overfished has tripled since 1974. ​ Today at ​ least one third of wild-caught fish are harvested 5 from stocks that are overexploited. ​ Experts ​ estimate that the global fishing fleet is already 6 twice as large as the ocean can sustain. ​ As the ​ supply of wild-caught seafood remains constant amidst declining fish stocks, the demand for seafood is rapidly increasing. In the last half century, the human population has doubled and the average person eats twice as much 7 seafood. ​ This demand is set to double again by 8 ​ 2050. ​ Three billion people rely on seafood for ​ one fifth of their total animal protein intake, with higher proportions in developing 9 countries. ​ There is only one reason seafood ​ remains accessible to these people. Modern seafood demand could never have been filled if it were not for the agriculturists that took to the 1 h​ ttps://www.salemstate.edu 2 h​ ttps://www.salemstate.edu/ 3 h​ ttps://ourworldindata.org/seafood-production 4 T​ he State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture ©2020 SEAAHEAD, INC | 6 5 T​ he State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 6 C​ redit Suisse 7 h​ ttps://ourworldindata.org/seafood-production 8 9 h​ ttps://www.worldbank.org WORLD CAPTURE FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE PRODUCTION NOTE: Excludes aquatic mammals, crocodiles, alligators and caimons, seaweeds, and other aquatic plants SOURCE: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (fao.org) ​ ​ 10 Depending on the region, the aquaculture economy is growing between 7% and 20% per annum.