Subscribe via RSS Feed Browse our photos on Flickr

Fisheries & Aquaculture


What We Do


Virginia Sea Grant aims to maintain sustainable and thriving commercial and recreational fisheries and aquaculture production in Virginia through cutting edge research and "feet on the boat" extension work. Extension staff at VIMS and Virginia Tech specialize in fishing gear design, recreational fisheries, and finfish and shellfish aquaculture.

Extension projects include:


Current research and extension work is featured below


George Trice (left) pilots the boat to the next net location, while Jimmy Moore (right) inspects some equipment. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

New Net Could Help Fishermen Reeling Over Sturgeon Listing

Waterman George Trice has been collaborating with scientists for eight years to collect data on Atlantic sturgeon.

Virginia Sea Grant Director Troy Hartley conducts network analysis to help better manage fisheries. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Virginia Sea Grant Director Appointed to National Research Council Committee

This March, Virginia Sea Grant Director Troy Hartley was appointed to a national committee that will evaluate the effectiveness of fisheries management and present findings in a document to Congress.

The crew of the R/V Shearwater let out a net to trawl for flounder. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Trawling for a Better Way to Assess Fish Health

On a warm morning last August, Ryan Schloesser and his labmate, student Lauren Nys, trawled off Oyster, VA. After a summer filled with collecting fish, they worked with experienced ease, throwing around jokes as smoothly as they tossed their nets behind the boat. What they pull up in their nets should help fisheries managers better predict the size of fish populations.

A seasoned tagger shows new volunteers how to tag a fish. ©Mark Pearson

Welcoming a New ‘Class’ of Volunteer Taggers

The Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program (VGFTP) trained 16 new volunteer taggers on Tuesday March 27 at VIMS. The new “class” of volunteers came from as close as Gloucester and as far away as the Elizabeth City, N.C.

Take the Survey About Your Seafood Habits, Consumption

Take the Survey About Your Seafood Habits, Consumption

A new partnership between Virginia Sea Grant and the College of William and Mary is exploring whether a community-supported fishery is a feasible means to help reverse this trend by promoting greater consumption of locally harvested fish and shellfish.

Taggers show off their plaques at the 2011 Tagger Awards. ©Will Sweatt/VASG

2011′s Top Volunteer Fish Taggers Recognized

Volunteers in Virginia’s Game Fish Tagging Program tagged more than 19,000 fish in 2011, and on February 24, volunteer anglers who out-tagged their colleagues in any of 12 categories, including most tagged fish overall, most recaptured fish, and most tagged fish of a single species were recognized for their efforts. First place taggers in each category received a plaque, and runners-up received a tackle bucket with fishing gear provided by the Bass Pro Shop.

Peter Kube is a Quantitative Geneticist at Australia's CSIRO. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

VIDEO: Economic Values of Traits in Salmon

Peter Kube is Quantitative Geneticist at Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation in Hobart, Australia. Kube’s research in selective breeding of salmon, abalone, and Pacific oysters has lead to important tools for industry, including a way to calculate a breeding value for desired trait combinations. Kube is partnering with VIMS ABC researchers Anu Frank-Lawale and [...]

A youngster tries his first oyster. ©Kim Warner/VASG

Tasting the Bay

Even if you’ve tried raw oysters, you may have never really tasted one. Like wine, oysters grown in different areas taste different because they take on the characteristics of their environment. Simply slurping your oysters means you miss these delicate flavors.

At the second annual Halfshell Oyster Tasting event in November, the Tidewater Oyster Gardeners Association (TOGA) helped more than 200 people learn to really taste oysters. Attendees put their taste buds to the test trying to differentiate oysters from six growers who raise oysters at different places along the Chesapeake Bay. Virginia Sea Grant (VASG) and our extension partners were proud cosponsors of this fun event.

A workshop attendee smells an oyster before tasting it. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Oyster Growers Learn How to Stand Out

The new buzzword in oyster marketing is “differentiation” as Virginia Sea Grant Business and Marketing Specialist Dan Kauffman explained at the recent Differentiated Halfshell Marketing Workshop sponsored by Virginia Sea Grant, Virginia Tech, Virginia Marine Products Board, and Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Taggers Help U.S. Vets Fish, Tag, and Heal

Taggers Help U.S. Vets Fish, Tag, and Heal

Watching Dave Conklin cast is poetry in motion. In one smooth movement, his arm circles up and out to the side, zipping the line through the air. Dave’s graceful casting is an achievement, one that he enjoys sharing with other veterans in Project Healing Waters.

Selecting Stronger Oyster Larvae Without Weakening Adults

Selecting Stronger Oyster Larvae Without Weakening Adults

Oyster aquaculture production in Virginia has increased tenfold in the past four years due, for the most part, to the development and dissemination of disease-tolerant oyster stocks. Anu Frank-Lawale of VIMS is examining whether larval growth traits and survival can be improved without compromising important traits in adult oysters, such as disease tolerance, growth rate, [...]

Harvesting commercially grown oysters. ©Margaret Pizer/VASG

Improving Treatment to Reduce Oyster Disease

In 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced a regulatory change that would require treatment of all oysters harvested in the Gulf of Mexico for raw consumption for the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus. VIMS researchers Howard Kator and Kimberly Reece worked with oyster growers Thomas Gallivan, A.J. Erskine, and Tommy Leggett to identify whether a [...]

VIDEOS: Community Supported Fisheries and Sustainable Consumption

VIDEOS: Community Supported Fisheries and Sustainable Consumption

In December, Virginia Sea Grant invited two scholars to participate in the fall 2011 Visiting Scholar Seminar Series to discuss consumer behavior and community supported fisheries. These talks precede Virginia Sea Grant’s spring research project, which will investigate whether Virginian’s would participate in community supported fishery.

Gene Burreson (left) receives congratulations and the 2011 Mathias Medal  from Virginia Sea Grant Director Troy Hartley (right).

VIDEO: Burreson’s Contributions to Science, Policy Recognized with 2011 Mathias Medal

On a mid-October evening, Gene Burreson, who colleagues consider “one of maybe two of the most important figures in the field” of fish and shellfish pathology, stood before a room of resource managers, industry members, scientists, and family and humbly stated, “Although this award is only given to one person, science is not done alone. I’ve been lucky that I’ve always hired good people to work with me.”

The Fishery Resource Grant Program provides funding to watermen and aqua-farmers to test their ideas for improving business and environmental health along Virginia's coasts. ©Erin Seiling/VASG

Watermen Eligible for 2012 Funding, Invited to Learn More

Virginia Institute of Marine Science Marine Extension Program will host two workshops to help watermen and aquaculturists put together applications for 2012 Fisheries Resource Grant funding.

Making Aquaculture Sustainable in Virginia and Beyond

Making Aquaculture Sustainable in Virginia and Beyond

Researchers, watermen, business owners and other aquaculture enthusiasts gathered in Williambsurg for the Virginia Aquaculture Conference.

Dan Sennett stands in a VIMS green house where hundreds of tiny spadefish are swimming in 12 plastic tanks. ©Janet Krenn/VIMS

Taking Spadefish from ‘New Species’ to ‘Aquaculture Species’

Summer Communications Intern Kate Schimel reports on research into the spawning and food needs of the Atlantic spadefish. Studies like these are the first step towards developing a new species for aquaculture.

Oyster. ©Kim Warner/VASG

Verifying a Promising New Oyster Treatment Method

Current treatments to reduce the occurrence of the bacteria Vibrio vulnificus in oysters destined for the half-shell market include expensive radiation and heating processes, which may compromise the quality of the oyster meat. After positive results from a small preliminary study, VIMS Researchers Howard Kator, Kimberly Reece, and Corinne Audemard are conducting a larger follow-up [...]

Oyster seed. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Strengthening Oysters and the ‘Bottom Line’

When geneticists began breeding oysters in hatcheries more than 10 years ago, the goal was simple: cultivate oysters that could resist diseases that were devastating wild populations. Today, oyster growers may need more from their oysters to remain competitive. VIMS researchers Anu Frank-Lawale and Stan Allen are partnering with Peter Kube from Commonwealth Scientific and [...]

Community supported fisheries are just one more way to bring fresh, local seafood direct to consumers. ©Janet Krenn/VASG

Would a Community Supported Fishery Work in Virginia?

When you think of eating local, what foods fill your imaginary plate? Maybe you think of vegetables and eggs, but what about fish? Would you even know where to find locally caught or farmed seafood if you wanted it? This spring Virginia Sea Grant will lead a team to determine whether it would make sense for local seafood producers could bring their catch to a community supported fishery.

Page 1 of 3123