May 2, 2019
CTSA’s Dr. Cheng-Sheng Lee was featured in a recent televised news interview on a new aquaculture accelerator in Hawaii. Click here to view the video and read the corresponding article on KITV. Content is also pasted below: Something is fishy about Hawaii’s newest business accelerator! Because...Continue Reading »Apr 30, 2019
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALSApr 30, 2019
Aloha & Happy Earth Month! As I reflect on the annual celebration of Earth Day & Month, my thoughts center on the importance of using our precious natural resources wisely and effectively. Aquaculture plays an increasingly essential role in the global food supply. As our aquaculture industry...Continue Reading »Mar 28, 2019
Aloha, Introducing new and innovate approaches to aquaculture industry needs is always a top priority in my work. This month, I have spent a significant amount of time communicating with researchers across disciplines to discover new and different ideas and technology that can be innovatively...Continue Reading »Feb 28, 2019
Aloha! Following the recent CTSA Board approval of the FY18 Plan of Work (and subsequent submission to the USDA), we are now turning our attention to this year’s development cycle. To kick things off, my team and I are planning to hold our first adhoc committee meeting of the year to discuss...Continue Reading »Feb 25, 2019
In a beautiful island paradise like Hawaii, one might think that fresh seafood is plentiful in every corner market and restaurant. That all of the famous garlic shrimp and fish plate lunches feature seafood that was harvested locally that week or perhaps that same day. While there are certainly...Continue Reading »Jan 31, 2019
Aloha, Yesterday we held our annual CTSA Board of Directors (BOD) meeting. I am happy to report that our entire Board was able to attend this year’s meeting. In addition to reviewing recently completed and ongoing CTSA projects, the Directors discussed and voted on the FY18 Plan of Work at the...Continue Reading »Jan 25, 2019
The following 2-page summaries of CTSA projects that were active during 2018 are included in the Annual Accomplishment Report to the USDA. Please note: projects funded under the CTSA FY17 Plan of Work commenced recently and do not yet have significant findings to report; they are not included in...Continue Reading »Jan 1, 2019
January 30, 2019 Board of Directors approves FY18 Plan of Work February 18, 2019 FY18 Plan of Work sent to USDA By May 13, 2019 Call for FY19 Pre-Proposals May 31, 2019 Mid-Term Status Reports due to CTSA June 14, 2019 Pre-proposals due for CTSA FY19 Plan of Work ...Continue Reading »Dec 20, 2018
Nov 29, 2018
Aloha! We here at CTSA hope you and your family had a joyous Thanksgiving holiday! In addition to being thankful for our loved ones, we are particularly thankful this year to see that one of the islands in our region is once again making bold strides in the global advancement towards a more...Continue Reading »Nov 23, 2018
Commercial aquaculture farmers in Hawaii and the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands are dependent on imported feeds to sustain their businesses, as there are currently no commercial feed mills in the region. This situation has created a huge financial burden to the farmers and has significantly...Continue Reading »Oct 31, 2018
Aloha & Happy Halloween! As revelers celebrate the traditions of this holiday, my team and I are “dusting off the cobwebs” persay as we box up our office and prepare to move our headquarters to the University of Hawaii Manoa campus.Oct 23, 2018
National Seafood Month is an annual designation observed each October. This designation—originally created by congress decades ago—provides an opportunity for our industry to celebrate seafood and all of its numerous benefits to our health and economy. Whether wild or farmed, seafood is a...Continue Reading »Oct 15, 2018
The Hawaii Small Business Innovative Research (HSBIR) Matching Fund application for Phase 2 & 3 is now open until November 20, 2018. The Hawaii Small Business Innovation Research program provides matching funds to help companies further the development of new products to solve critical issues. Up...Continue Reading »Sep 30, 2018
Aloha, As you are likely aware, the U.S. aquaculture industry has been a hot topic on Capitol Hill this year. From legislators and government agencies to industry stakeholders and trade groups, many are calling for concerted efforts to increase domestic aquaculture production. Ramping up...Continue Reading »Sep 28, 2018
Farming the mangrove crab (Scylla serrata Forskall) has become popular in Palau due to its high market demand and lucrative price. Hatchery techniques have been successfully established through a mangrove crab seed production project funded by CTSA in recent years. However, production of juvenile...Continue Reading »Sep 20, 2018
NIFA is requesting stakeholder input related to the challenges, priorities and needed breakthroughs in food and agricultural sciences through the “NIFA Listens: Investing in Science to Transform Lives,” initiative. Four in-person listening sessions, in combination with an online stakeholder...Continue Reading »Aug 31, 2018
Aloha,Aug 20, 2018
Written by James McVey I was asked, as part of our CTSA project on evaluating the feasibility of offshore cage culture of the grouper P. leopardus, to tell the story of how we got to this point in development of larger scale fish culture for the Pacific Islands. After a nearly 50 year career...Continue Reading »Jul 31, 2018
Aloha, As you know, a common theme of my monthly messages and a focus of the work coming out of our Center is the reduction of waste. Upon reading through the recently released SOFIA report from the FAO, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the global seafood supply chain is working together to...Continue Reading »Jul 30, 2018
Each year, CTSA-funded projects are required to submit a midterm report and an annual progress report on the status of their work. In addition to and coinciding with these reports, CTSA staff holds bi-annual conference calls with each PI and the corresponding project industry liaison. This...Continue Reading »Jul 27, 2018
The Washington State University and University of Idaho School of Food Science will host two courses this fall. The “Produce Safety Alliance Grower Training Course” will be on September 24, and the “Aquaponics and Intensive Containerized Hydroponics: Regulatory and Technical Considerations” course...Continue Reading »Jul 26, 2018
The National Aquaculture Association (NAA), as a member of the Aquatic Drug Approval Coalition, would like to survey and assess the current and future unmet medication and vaccine needs for U.S. fish farmers.Jul 18, 2018
CTSA and the Oceanic Institute of HPU are excited to welcome sea cucumber and pearl oyster aquaculture expert Masahiro Ito to Oahu for his free seminar on ‘Establishing Sea Cucumber and Pearl Oyster Hatchery Production and Farming in the Pacific Islands.’ Tuesday, August 1, 2018Jun 30, 2018
Aloha, Our Industry Advisory Council and Technical Committee held their annual meeting yesterday to discuss the pre-proposals CTSA received in response to our FY18 request. I am happy to report that the meeting went well and that our group had thorough, lively discussions about each of the...Continue Reading »Jun 29, 2018
CTSA is excited to welcome sea cucumber and pearl oyster expert Masahiro Ito to Oahu this summer! On Tuesday August 1, Ito-san will present his work during a seminar at the Oceanic Institute (OI) of Hawaii Pacific University in Waimanalo. Ito-san has served as the Principal Investigator of...Continue Reading »Jun 28, 2018
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Agricultural Research Service (ARS) Aquaculture National Program 106 and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) are interested in obtaining stakeholder input towards establishing aquaculture research and extension priorities to be addressed...Continue Reading »Jun 22, 2018
The USDA recently approved the FY2017 Plan of Work, which includes funding for eight new projects and the continuation of the CTSA Information Services project. The overall goals of the project “Developing Bivalve Farming in Hawaii, Years 6 to 8” are to develop methods to guide efforts to...Continue Reading »May 24, 2018
Aloha,May 21, 2018
The ‘CELC Aquaculture Education Webinar Series’ will hold its next webinar on Wednesday May 30, 4-5 PM EST. Linda Cornish, President of the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, will present on “Sustaining Ourselves Through Seafood: Seafood nutrition at the intersection of public health and environmental...Continue Reading »May 15, 2018
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALSApr 26, 2018
Aloha & Happy Earth Month! As I reflect on the annual celebration of Earth Day/Month, my thoughts center on the delicate relationship between humans and the limited natural resources of our planet. To adapt to the unique circumstances in the Pacific region, we need to continually develop food...Continue Reading »Apr 12, 2018
The USDA Farm Service Agency (FSA) will issue $34 million to help agricultural producers recover from 2017 natural disasters through the Emergency Assistance for Livestock, Honeybees and Farm-raised Fish Program (ELAP), which covers losses not covered by certain other USDA disaster assistance...Continue Reading »Apr 6, 2018
NIFA requests applications for the Aquaculture Research Competitive Grants Program (henceforth, Aquaculture Research program) for Fiscal Year (FY) 2018. The amount available for support of this program in FY 2018 is approximately $1.2 million. The deadline for applications is 5 p.m. Eastern Time...Continue Reading »Mar 29, 2018
Aloha, CTSA held its annual Board of Director’s meeting last week to discuss and approve the FY17 Plan of Work. I would like to express our sincere appreciation to NOAA for allowing us to use their conference room at Pier 38 in downtown Honolulu. It was our first meeting in this comfortable and...Continue Reading »Mar 23, 2018
Written by Bell Lin, Graduate student, Master of Science in Marine Science at HPU The increase of aquatic feed production is facing the challenge of rising cost and decreasing availability of feed ingredients, such as fishmeal (Barry, 2004). Feed cost usually accounts for more than 50% of...Continue Reading »Feb 27, 2018
Aloha, Like many of you, I just returned home from the Aquaculture America Conference in Las Vegas. The theme of this year’s conference was “Shaping the Future - Telling our Story,” and it was a productive week filled with educational presentations, constructive meetings with old and new...Continue Reading »Feb 26, 2018
Feed typically represents the single largest operating expense for aquafarmers and one of the greatest inefficiencies on many farms is waste of valuable nutrients from feed. Furthermore, many aquaculture farms incur costs to treat and/or dispose of nutrient-rich sludge generated from production...Continue Reading »Feb 24, 2018
The Hawaii State Legislature started its 2018 session last month, and two bills have been introduced to support efforts to grow the commercial aquaculture industry in Hawaii. HB2041, the bill to provide funding for the aquaculture incubator at NELHA, has been scheduled for a hearing by the House...Continue Reading »Jan 30, 2018
Aloha,Jan 23, 2018
A brief survey has been developed for educators and institutions that specialize in ocean literacy and seafood businesses that provide information to their customers. It will provide a landscape overview of who is sharing information about marine aquaculture, the context in which they are doing...Continue Reading »Jan 11, 2018
The following 2-page summaries of CTSA projects that were active during 2017 are included in the Annual Accomplishment Report to the USDA. Please note: projects funded under the CTSA FY16 Plan of Work commenced recently and do not yet have significant findings to report; they are not included in...Continue Reading »Dec 1, 2017
The Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA) is seeking letters of intent for a collaborative applied research and extension project to address the priority of establishing aquaculture of marine ornamental fish - particularly Yellow Tang - in Hawai’i and the CTSA region. CTSA’s...Continue Reading »Nov 29, 2017
Aloha, As we reflect on all that we are thankful for this year, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the many stakeholders who continuously volunteer their time to help CTSA achieve our program goals. The dedicated members of our Industry Advisory Council, Technical Committee, and...Continue Reading »Nov 24, 2017
Microbial proteins, such as fungal biomass produced on low-cost feedstock, have gained significant attention as feed ingredients due to cost effectiveness and long-term sustainability. Fungal process is a low-cost and simple process for animal feed production, as fungi are known to grow...Continue Reading »Oct 31, 2017
Aloha and Happy Halloween, As revelers celebrate the spooky traditions of this holiday, my thoughts are on something much more frightening: wasted government spending! Federal spending is intended to provide the ‘raw materials’ to build solutions to our societal problems; it is up to the...Continue Reading »Oct 30, 2017
Last week, a Hawaii judge halted commercial fishing of reef fish for aquariums until the state reviews the industry’s environmental impact. The Friday ruling by the Oahu Circuit Court follows the state Supreme Court’s decision last month that issuance of permits allowing aquarium fish collection...Continue Reading »Sep 29, 2017
Aloha, For the last several years, CTSA has been working closely with researchers in our region to look for under-utilized agriculture by-products, and/or waste products generated from food processing, that can be converted to usable ingredients for aquatic feed. Recent discussions in the media...Continue Reading »Sep 28, 2017
On September 26, the Hawaii Board of Agriculture voted to move Oreochromis niloticus, also known as Nile Tilapia, from Restricted List A (for research only) to List B (for commercial production). This rule change is being hailed as a major victory for tilapia producers in the state. Several...Continue Reading »Sep 20, 2017
Presentations and conference proceedings from the National Aquaculture Extension Conference, held June 6-8 in Idaho, are now available online. 41 oral and nine poster presentations are posted on the Western Regional Aquaculture Center (WRAC) website. Presentations are available in PDF and video...Continue Reading »Aug 30, 2017
Aloha, The Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC) recently published the results of an economic assessment which found that a modest investment of just over $4 million in NRAC projects from 2005-2014 generated almost $79 million in GDP and 777 jobs in NRAC states. This data provides clear...Continue Reading »Aug 25, 2017
NOAA Fisheries has announced the 2018 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant competition is open for applications. The goal of the SK program is to fund projects that address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other...Continue Reading »Aug 21, 2017
The USDA recently approved the FY2016 Plan of Work, which includes funding for four new projects, one continuation project, and multi-year activities of three projects approved in previous Plans of Work. The overall goals of the new project “Francisella noatunesis subsp. orientalis incidence...Continue Reading »Aug 11, 2017
From 2005 to 2014, the Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC) invested $4.1 million in 32 aquaculture research and extension projects. A multi-disciplinary team of researchers from the University of New Hampshire conducted an evaluation of these projects to assess: their economic impact on...Continue Reading »Jul 28, 2017
Aloha! Earlier this month, CTSA held it’s annual Industry Advisory Council and Technical Committee meeting to discuss and vote on the pre-proposals we received in response to our FY17 Request for Proposals. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our members who participated in this...Continue Reading »Jul 20, 2017
by Dr. Zhi Yong Ju, Oceanic Institute of Hawaii Pacific University There is currently no local feed production for aquaculture in Hawaii and the Pacific region. The recently completed two-year CTSA project “Development of Practical Local Feeds to Support Sustainable Aquaculture in Hawaii and...Continue Reading »Jul 14, 2017
Tilapia Lake Virus (TiLV) is a virus that poses a significant health threat worldwide to Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus and hybrid tilapia (O. niloticus x O. aureus). TiLV is in the influenza virus family, Orthomyxoviridae. The World Organization for Animal Health (OIE) is reviewing TiLV to...Continue Reading »Jun 29, 2017
Aloha, At the beginning of this month, I along with a cohort of CTSA staff and researchers traveled to Boise, Idaho to attend the National Aquaculture Extension Conference. The conference takes place every four to five years (with funding support from the Regional Aquaculture Center Program), and...Continue Reading »Jun 21, 2017
CTSA Midterm Progress Reports are due at the beginning of June each year. Although these reports are not as detailed as the annual progress reports due in November, they provide important insight to the status of ongoing research. The following is a summary of progress from some of CTSA’s ongoing...Continue Reading »May 25, 2017
Aloha! Earlier this month, CTSA released our FY 2017 Request for Pre-Proposals via our website and through other distribution channels. I would like to take this opportunity to express my appreciation to our stakeholders who provided input on priority areas for regional aquaculture research and...Continue Reading »May 22, 2017
by Chatham Callan, Ph.D. The culture of high value marine fish (such as grouper) is rapidly expanding in Asia. In particular, the high demand for live grouper in the Hong Kong market commands wholesale prices of up to US$100 per kilogram. Groupers have been cultured in South East Asia for over 30...Continue Reading »May 2, 2017
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALSApr 28, 2017
Aloha & Happy Earth Month! As we take time this month to celebrate our amazing planet and its natural resources, I find myself reflecting on CTSA’s recent trip to Palau. Our team traveled to Koror to participate in a workshop on the ongoing CTSA-supported projects at Palau Community College, and...Continue Reading »Apr 17, 2017
The Hawaii Department of Agriculture will hold public hearings on four islands next month to receive testimony on proposed amendments to move Nile tilapia from List A to List B. The DOA has released a request for support at the upcoming hearings. Nile tilapia is a fast-growing species of all...Continue Reading »Mar 24, 2017
Aloha, March 22 is World Water Day, a day to reflect on the importance of using our water resources wisely. As the world’s population grows, so does the need for sustainable food production. Water is an essential component to all methods of farming, particularly the production of animal protein...Continue Reading »Mar 22, 2017
by Anthony Mau, University of Hawaii Graduate Researcher There has never been a more exciting time for the aquaculture of ‘opihi ‘alinalina (Cellana sandwicensis), which is currently underway at the Oceanic Institute. There is major demand for ‘opihi by the local seafood retailers in...Continue Reading »Mar 20, 2017
CTSA is beginning preparations for the FY17 development cycle. A hallmark of the Regional Aquaculture Center program is that we are industry driven; accordingly, we are requesting stakeholder input on priority areas to include in our next Call for Pre-Proposals. What species and/or technologies...Continue Reading »Mar 14, 2017
The 11th Asia Pacific Marine Biotechnology Conference (APMBC 2017) has lined up six plenary speakers for its meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii on May 21-24, 2017. The meetings will be held at the Hawaii IMINInternational Conference Center at Jefferson Hall on the campus of the University of Hawaii at...Continue Reading »Feb 22, 2017
Aloha, In addition to our Special RFP for FY16, CTSA is beginning preparations for the next development cycle. We will soon make a formal request of our Industry Advisory Council (and all other interested stakeholders) to provide us with industry identified priority areas for the FY17 Request...Continue Reading »Feb 10, 2017
The CTSA funded project “Establishment of Milkfish Fry Production in Palau to Reduce Dependency on Imported Fry” has been gaining attention across the region. The newspapers Island Times and The Saipan Tribune recently featured stories about the project’s success to date: Island Times Story (PDF)...Continue Reading »Feb 3, 2017
Register now for the upcoming HAAA conference. ProgramJan 31, 2017
Due to a unique situation with the FY16 project development process and budget, CTSA is requesting full proposals for applied research and extension that addresses the specific aquaculture development priorities of mangrove crab production and local feed development as described in the Special...Continue Reading »Jan 31, 2017
A dependency on imported goods and low agricultural production translate into a high level of malnutrition and food insecurity in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Due to limited land and fresh water availability, and the risk of overfishing, the local government has identified marine...Continue Reading »Jan 31, 2017
Aloha, 2017 is off to a productive start for CTSA! We held our annual Board of Director’s meeting last Thursday to discuss and approve the FY16 Plan of Work. This year, we welcomed three new Board members: Rachel Novotny, Interim Dean of CTAHR, Darren Lerner, Director of UHM SeaGrant, and Alan...Continue Reading »Jan 24, 2017
All 15 presentations from the USDA-funded joint USAS, NCRAC, NAA Aquaculture Webinar series have been made available online: U.S. Farm-Raised Finfish and Shellfish 101 Regulatory Costs of U.S. Aquaculture Business Seafood in the Diet: Benefits and Risks for Farm Raised and Wild Branding...Continue Reading »Dec 21, 2016
The following 2-page summaries of CTSA projects that were active during 2016 are included in the Annual Accomplishment Report to the USDA. Please note: projects funded under the CTSA FY15 Plan of Work commenced recently and do not yet have significant findings to report; they are not included in...Continue Reading »Oct 6, 2016
Presented by Dr. Bill Walton, with guest presenters Beth Walton, Bryan Rackley, and Rowan Jacobsen. The National Aquaculture Association, North Central Regional Aquaculture Center and United States Aquaculture Society are offering a webinar for oyster farmers about branding opportunities in a...Continue Reading »Apr 27, 2016
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALSFeb 26, 2016
Due to a unique situation with the FY15 project development process and budget, the Board of Directors has determined that CTSA will use a portion of FY15 funds to develop a collaborative applied research and extension project to address the priority of cost-effective locally made aquatic feed in...Continue Reading »Dec 18, 2015
The following 2-page summaries of CTSA projects that were active during 2015 are included in the Annual Accomplishment Report to the USDA. Please note: projects funded under the CTSA FY14 Plan of Work commenced recently and do not yet have significant findings to report; they are not included in...Continue Reading »Jul 27, 2015
CTSA has supported many years of research on aquaculture techniques for amberjack, known in Hawaii as kāhala. We are pleased to release a new extension publication from University of Hawaii CTAHR researchers discussing the differences between cultured and captured kāhala. Click here to download...Continue Reading »Jul 1, 2015
The University of Guam is seeking an Assistant to Associate Professor in Extension and Outreach who will provide high quality, responsive, science-based, and effective programs under the CNAS SeaGrant portfolio. Applications due by August 31, 2015. Employment period to begin on November 1, 2015 or...Continue Reading »Jun 25, 2015
“To support livelihoods of communities and assist in the replenishment of sea cucumber stocks in the region, the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), with funding assistance from the Australian Centre for International Agriculture Research (ACIAR)/ DFAT Australia, has conducted two...Continue Reading »May 11, 2015
REQUEST FOR PRE-PROPOSALSApr 24, 2015
The CTSA-funded project “Economic Analyses of Aquaponics Systems in Hawaii and Guam” is pleased to release Aquaponics Decision Software, a commercial aquaponics spreadsheet modeling system. The purpose of this generalized spreadsheet modeling system is to provide a user-friendly tool that can be...Continue Reading »Feb 23, 2015
The new “Farming Our Waters” brochure features a brief overview of the Regional Aquaculture Centers, and clarifies the program’s primary goal to address aquaculture challenges and opportunities typically pertaining to the following categories: Economic Viability of U.S. Aquaculture; Disease...Continue Reading »Dec 18, 2014
The following 2-page summaries of CTSA projects that were active during 2014 are included in the Annual Accomplishment Report to the USDA. Please note: projects funded under the CTSA FY14 Plan of Work commenced recently and do not yet have significant findings to report; they are not included in...Continue Reading »Dec 15, 2014
CTSA created a wall calendar for 2015 featuring beautiful photos and success stories of several CTSA-supported projects. Click below to download printable version (8 1/2” x 11”). PDF - 2015 CTSA CalendarNov 24, 2014
On Friday November 21, the Aquatic Feeds and Nutrition Department at the Oceanic Institute of Hawaii Pacific University hosted a “Local Feeds” workshop to share new information from several ongoing CTSA aquatic feed development projects. The following are five of the seven presentations included...Continue Reading »Oct 23, 2014
Aquatic Feeds and Nutrition Department hosts the Local Feed Workshop (Sponsored by CTSA)Oct 7, 2014
USDA Expands Access to Credit to Help More Beginning and Family Farmers - Changes Increase Eligibility and Financing Options for Hard Working FamiliesJul 18, 2014
As part of the annual IAC/TC meeting, IAC members prepare and share updates about aquaculture activities in their location or area of expertise. Click here to read the 2014 updates about aquaculture in Palau, Kauai, and Hawaii, as well as Marine Food Fish and Marine Shrimp Aquaculture in the...Continue Reading »Jun 17, 2014
Aquaculture Potential of Hawaiian Polychaetes for Use as a Shrimp Maturation Feed Several species of polychaetes have been collected from various locations around Oahu including sediments at He’eia Kea state park, He’eia Kea boat harbor, Waiāhole beach Park and Maunalua Bay, and on floats...Continue Reading »May 23, 2014
(Click here to download PDF) The Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA) requests pre-proposals for applied research and extension that addresses problems and opportunities in the regional aquaculture industry. CTSA stakeholders have identified the below strategic areas and species...Continue Reading »Apr 14, 2014
Fact Sheet highlighting changes to 2014 Farm BillMar 31, 2014
On April 23-24, CTSA and the American Samoa Departments of Agriculture and Marine and Wildlife Resources will host a collaborative aquaponics workshop at the Department of Agriculture Conference Room. The purpose of the two-day workshop is to transfer aquaponics technology to island residents who...Continue Reading »Jan 1, 2014
CTSA’s 2013 Annual Accomplishment Report (AAR) features updates from each CTSA-funded project that was active in 2013. Click here to view the report.Nov 28, 2013
The PI’s of the CTSA-sponsored project “Economic Analyses of Commercial Aquaponics Systems in Hawaii and Guam” have published the following article summarizing the initial results of the project: Economics of Commercial Aquaponics in Hawaii Introduction