Courtesy of NAA:
A recent publication by Drs. Carole Engle and Jonathan van Senten sheds new light on the economic burden of U.S. regulations on hybrid Striped Bass and Red Drum farmers.

The authors found that the regulatory costs were one of the greatest costs of production, at 22% of total costs on hybrid Striped Bass farms and 15% for Red Drum farms.  

Previous papers examining U.S. baitfish and sportfish, salmonid, shellfish and ornamental farms have found similar results. 

As this latest paper in a series of aquaculture regulatory surveys, the authors concluded that "Streamlining and simplifying regulatory monitoring and reporting requirements would reduce costs on U.S. aquaculture. Producing more of our seafood locally in the USA could replace product imported from countries with less rigorous standards, and enhance the sustainability of our food supply."
​
To learn more about the critical issue, visit NAA's Regulatory Impacts page.  ​

NOAA Fisheries seeks nominations to fill vacancies on the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, an advisory group that researches, evaluates, and provides advice and recommendations to the Secretary and NOAA on agency policies, activities, science, conservation, and regulatory programs critical to the mission and goals of NOAA Fisheries. 

Committee members are highly qualified, diverse individuals with experience in commercial, recreational, aquaculture, and non-commercial fisheries and businesses; seafood industry, including processing, marketing, restaurants, and related industries; marine, ecosystems, or protected resources management and conservation; and human dimensions or social sciences associated with living marine resources and working waterfronts. 
​
A letter of interest and resume are due by December 15, 2023; full details on the opportunity, including instructions for submitting nominations, can be found here. NOAA Fisheries strives to ensure MAFAC members represent a diversity of individuals and interests. We encourage nominations from all those interested across the country.

Virginia Sea Grant, with support from NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office, NOAA’s Fisheries Office of Aquaculture, USDA’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), and USDA’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) recently launched the Aquaculture Information Exchange. 

The Exchange is an online community involving individuals from both the public and private sectors with interests in U.S. aquaculture (e.g., researchers, Land and Sea Grant Extension, industry) and related topics. The Exchange will serve as a communications platform, actively being moderated to facilitate discussions about current issues facing the industry, the latest research and developments in aquaculture, and a space where users from across the nation can connect with other members of the aquaculture community.
​
View more here

Courtesy of NAA:
​
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced two tribal higher education opportunities to train the next generation of agricultural professionals and strengthen ties with tribal higher education institutions.
The USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program offers a fast-track career path with USDA, and the Terra Preta do Indio Tribal Faculty Fellowship engages tribal college faculty with USDA resources and research. These programs reflect USDA’s commitment to advance equity and remove barriers to service for tribal nations and encourage tribal workforce development.

New Four-Year Tuition Coverage for Tribal Scholars Program

The USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program provides full tuition, fees, books, a housing stipend, and paid workforce training to any interested and eligible student pursuing degrees in agriculture, food, natural resource sciences, or related academic disciplines at a tribal college or university. New this year, the tuition coverage can follow the student from a two-year associate program at a tribal college or university (TCU) to a four-year bachelor’s degree program (at a TCU or another land-grant institution). When the student has completed the scholarship requirements, including a paid internship, USDA may convert the student to a permanent USDA employee without further competition. Eligible applicants include graduating high school seniors, full-time students currently enrolled at a 1994 land-grant tribal college or university, or recent TCU associate degree graduates. For FY 2024, 27 scholarship slots are available at: Agriculture Research Service, Farm Service Agency, Farm Production and Conservation, Forest Service, National Institute of Food and Agriculture, and Natural Resources Conservation Service. The application deadline is December 1, 2023. 

Visit the USDA 1994 Tribal Scholars Program or email [email protected] for further information.

Terra Preta do Indio Tribal Faculty Fellowship Program

This Faculty Fellowship program seeks to strengthen tribal college and university research capacity, and introduce TCU faculty and staff to USDA programs and services. In June 2024, the Faculty Fellows will spend a week in Washington, D.C. to meet with USDA program leads, identify areas for collaboration, and learn more about USDA resources. During a second week, they are placed at a USDA research facility that aligns with their academic research interests. This year’s research collaborations will take place with USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, Forest Service, and the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. The Faculty Fellows return to their institution with new knowledge to benefit their community, cooperative research opportunities, and advance their tribal college land-grant mission of research, education, and extension. The application deadline is December 1, 2023. 

Learn more at USDA’s Tribal College Program website.

The ruling was made after the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe and the Northwest Aquaculture Alliance’s (NWAA) filed a complaint against the DNR,

According to NWAA, the decision essentially declares that the “ban” on commercial net pens that Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz touted in her press conference on 18 November 2022 has no legal effect in Washington.

NWAA has issued the following statement today: “Last Friday, October 20, we got confirmation from Thurston County Superior Court that fish farming in commercial net pens is not illegal in Washington, contrary to the inflammatory public statements made by the Commissioner of Public Lands during her November 18, 2022, press conference, where she announced that ‘Washington’s public aquatic lands will no longer be home to commercial finfish net pen aquaculture,’” said Jeanne McKnight, NWAA executive director...
​
Read more

Meteorologist Pete Parsons' Seasonal Climate Forecast has been updated. See his November 2023-January 2024 prediction as a PDF or a PowerPoint document.
​
Forecast Video

Objective
Globally, flavobacteria (family Flavobacteriaceae and Weeksellaceae) are leading causes of disease-related losses in fish-farms and hatcheries. One route flavobacteria gain access to aquaculture facilities is via source water. Ultraviolet (UV) light treatment of source water has been effective in reducing the risk of disease outbreaks caused by nonflavobacteria; however, the UV dose required to inactivate flavobacteria has been understudied. The primary objective of this study was to examine the efficacy of UV light treatments for reducing the viability of fish-pathogenic and fish-associated Flavobacterium and Chryseobacterium species in a planktonic form.

Methods
Sixty-five flavobacterial isolates belonging to ten Flavobacterium spp. and Chryseobacterium spp. were exposed to a low (25 mJ/cm2) and high (126 mJ/cm2) dose of UV light via a collimating beam apparatus under in vitro conditions, after which treatment efficacy was determined via culture.

Result
All assayed flavobacteria were reduced by an average of ~1000-fold or ~100,000-fold at the low and high UV doses, respectively; however, substantial differences in reduction at the same UV dose were noted among isolates of the same flavobacterial species, including F. psychrophilum, F. columnare, and F. oreochromis. In addition, F. psychrophilum multilocus sequence typing variants ST10 and ST78, which are two of the most widespread variants in the United States of America, were among the least susceptible to ultraviolet light.

Conclusion
Overall, results demonstrate that viable flavobacteria can be reduced substantially by ultraviolet doses of 25–126 mJ/cm2, suggesting such treatments represent a promising tool for minimizing flavobacterial loads in hatcheries and aquaculture facilities, thereby enhancing biosecurity and reducing the risk of epizootics.
​
View the full study here.

U.S. lawmakers last week reintroduced the Science-based Equitable Aquaculture Food (SEAfood) Act, legislation designed to foster and encourage more offshore aquaculture development.

If passed, the legislation would authorize NOAA to establish an offshore aquaculture assessment program and a grant program that would help minority-serving educational institutions create aquaculture centers of excellence. The law would also require the Government Accountability Office, a congressional watchdog organization, to put together a report detailing regulatory requirements for offshore aquaculture, and the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine to conduct a study on the science behind offshore aquaculture regulations...
​
Read more

Courtesy of NAA:
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) announced partnering with the Urban School Food Alliance to provide trainings and tools to school districts that will help them purchase high quality foods, while keeping costs low. This initiative will support schools with school meals procurement, including the development of tools and training.

There are two new grant opportunities opening to support school meals:

• USDA is accepting applications, through Jan. 12, 2024, for the next round of USDA Farm to School Grants - which support local child nutrition programs in serving more fresh and local foods.
• Applications will open soon for the School Food Systems Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants.

​
As the second phase of USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives Initiative, these sub-grants will fund projects promoting innovation in the school meals marketplace through collaboration between schools food producers and suppliers, including local producers and small and disadvantaged businesses.

The Urban School Food Alliance currently consists of 18 large school districts that share best practices about purchasing school foods, based on their experiences and procurement data they have gathered and analyzed beginning in school year 2017-2018.
​
Through its new partnership agreement with USDA, the Urban School Food Alliance will:

• Develop new tools to educate school districts on best practices for purchasing school foods.
• Organize an advisory group of school nutrition stakeholders to create an action plan that will address challenges with school food procurement through the development of targeted trainings and resources.
• Develop an interactive bid template that will help standardize procurement processes in school nutrition.

Two of the four organizations leading the School Food Systems Transformation Challenge Sub-Grants will open applications in November 2023:

• Supporting Community Agriculture and Local Education Systems (SCALES), led by Boise State University, will encourage innovative partnerships between schools and producers, growers, and processors to nourish students through transformation of the school food system.
• Partnerships for Local Agriculture & Nutrition Transformation in Schools (PLANTS), led by the Chef Ann Foundation, will support regional efforts to nourish students, increase equity, foster a resilient supply chain, and create scalable and sustainable change for school districts across the country.

Applications for sub-grants managed by two other organizations – Full Plates Full Potential and Illinois Public Health Institute – will open in early 2024.

Collectively, the four organizations were awarded $50 million to administer these sub-grants. The grants will support collaboration between school districts, food producers, suppliers, distributors, and/or community partners to stimulate a resilient, equitable, and nutritious school food system.
​
Eligible organizations are encouraged to check the USDA’s Healthy Meals Incentives website for updates and sign up for bi-monthly newsletter at the bottom right of the USDA Team Nutrition website.

The Patrick Leahy Farm to School Program, also known as the Farm to School Program, helps child nutrition programs incorporate local foods into school breakfast and lunch; summer meals; and meals served at child care centers. The program offers a variety of resources, from research, technical assistance, and grants to help build and grow farm to school programs.
​
Applications for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Patrick Leahy Farm to School Grant Program are now open through January 12, 2024. To receive updates about the grants application and other farm to school news, subscribe to The Dirt, program’s monthly e-newsletter.

​Related Resources:
USDA School Meals
Child Nutrition Success Stories
USDA Support for Schools
To learn more about the USDA, Food and Nutrition Service (FNS), visit www.fns.usda.gov.