WVU Aquaculture to offer progress report Oct. 23

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – From reclaimed mines to recreational streams and fish oil to fertilizer, West Virginia’s aquaculture industry has been changing over the last decade. This is due in part to a team of West Virginia University researchers who are examining the industry from every angle.

The team behind WVU’s Aquaculture Product and Marketing Development Project will share progress reports at its annual project meeting Friday, Oct. 23 at the National Research Center for Coal and Energy (room 101 B). The program begins at 9 a.m. and ends at about noon.

WVU’s aquaculture efforts, led by Extension Aquaculture Specialist Ken Semmens, take a multidisciplinary approach to studying and promoting the region’s consumable fish industry. The research team includes animal scientists and engineers, economists and nutritionists, recreation specialists and food scientists.

Researchers will present brief presentations on a range of topics including re-use of by-products of fish production, aquaponics, stocking recreational ponds and waterways and human health implications of fish consumption.

The program was launched in 1998. In its almost 10 years, it has encompassed research from WVU’s Extension Service, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Design, College of Business and Economics, and College of Engineering and Mineral Resources. WVU’s research has received international attention, particularly for its examination of reclaimed mine sites as settings for aquaculture production.

-WVU-

dw/10/14/09
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