Research Projects

Non-Native Oysters: Crassostrea ariakensis
The Suminoegaki (Japanese) or Jinjiang (Chinese) oyster is one of several non-native species under evaluation at VIMS. The Suminoe oyster is interesting because it thrives at both low and high salinities, grows well when water temperatures are very warm, tolerates high turbidities, and best of all, is apparently resistant to our endemic oyster diseases, MSX and Dermo. 

CROS Breed
The Cooperative Regional Oyster Selective Breeding (CROSBreed) project is a collaboration among four mid-Atlantic universities (Rutgers, University of Delaware, University of Maryland, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science). Our goal is to continue a long-term selective breeding program for disease resistance in the American oyster, Crassostrea virginica. 

Clam Breeding
CBP is an "in-house" project of ABC. The Virginia hard clam aquaculture industry is healthy and robust, largely a product of earlier developmental work by VIMS and in particular Mike Castagna. ABC seeks to continue this industry interaction by improving brood stocks of hard clams and to make specialized brood stocks available to commercial hatcheries. 

WRAC
The USDA Western Regional Aquaculture Center sponsors research of benefit to the West Coast aquaculture industry. One project underway is led by Dr. Dennis Hedgecock of the University of California's Bodega Bay Marine Lab (the site of the Intergalactic Marigenetics Center).