July 2004

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• High Pressure Processing Workshop and Demonstration Highlights New Potential
• 5^th International Recirculating Aquaculture Conference Begins
• Rosa Slavik Joins CFAST as New Saltville Aquaculture Superintendent
• VSAREC Damage Repair Update
• Knauss Fellow Hails from VT
• SW-VA Aquaculture Research and Extension Center Upgrades Hatchery
• First Yellow Perch Harvest and Sale
• AVMA Approves Position Statement on Aquatic Animal Therapeutics
• Virginia Sea Grant Welcomes New Assistant Director
• Correa New Sea Grant Mid-Atlantic Communications Representative
• Combined Yellow Perch Aquaculture Nutrition and Water Quality Research
• Seafood Allergies on the Rise
• Jahncke Leads Thailand HACCP Workshops
• Seafood Reference Database Serves Up Answers for Research and Industry
• Fishery Biologist Studies Riparian American Eel Decline

High Pressure Processing Workshop and Demonstration Highlights New Potential
A group of 60 men and women came to the Blacksburg campus May 11th and 12th to explore high hydrostatic pressure processing technology, and to consider its applications in their own field. The two-day workshop was organized through cooperation between Virginia Tech’s High Pressure Processing Laboratory and Avure Technologies Inc., a pioneer in commercialization of high pressure processing (HPP) technology. Vital funding and support for the project was provided by the Fisheries Resource Grant Program administered by Virginia Sea Grant, with the goal of expanding seafood-industry awareness and utilization of this remarkable new technology. more...

5th International Recirculating Aquaculture Conference Begins
This summer's Fifth International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture begins Thursday the 22^nd of July, 2004. The meeting focuses exclusively on the science and application of recirculation technology for raising freshwater and marine species of fish and shellfish, as well other aquatic species.. more...

Rosa Slavik Joins CFAST as New Saltville Aquaculture Superintendent
Rosa Slavik has just begun work at her new post, as Superintendent of the Southwest Virginia Aquaculture Research and Extension Center in Saltville, VA. Slavik was chosen from among a distinguished group of candidates for the position, which involves oversight of the aquaculture and horticulture programs at the facility, outreach to farmers and entrepreneurs interested in aquaculture, and development of educational modules for people of all ages. more...

VSAREC Damage Repair Update
At the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hampton, VA, building repairs necessitated by Hurricane Isabel are coming along nicely. more...

Knauss Fellow Hails from VT
Michael Clark, a Master's degree graduate of the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences, is currently spending a year in the management division of NOAA Fisheries, Highly Migratory Species, as a 2004 Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. more...

SW-VA Aquaculture Research and Extension Center Upgrades Hatchery
The Southwest Virginia Aquaculture Research and Extension Center (Saltville, VA) has completed installation of the first of four breeding rooms to be used to condition yellow perch broodstock. The room contains two replicate recirculation systems, consisting of a sand filter with plastic media, a chiller, UV sterilizer, a trickling bio-tower and a 1710 liter (450 gallon) rectangular fiberglass tank. more...

First Yellow Perch Harvest and Sale
This spring, just under 910 kg (2000 lbs) of yellow perch were harvested from the grow-out tanks at the Southwest Virginia Aquaculture Research and Extension Center (SVAqREC), and sold to a buyer in central Ohio. The sale was a cooperative venture with Mr. James Dunn, a perch farmer with operations in Abingdon, Virginia. more...

AVMA Approves Position Statement on Aquatic Animal Therapeutics
As the aquaculture industry grows, the need for therapeutic agents to prevent, control, and eradicate diseases in farmed, wild, and ornamental aquatic animals has also grown. The need for guidance in this area has increased as well. more...

Virginia Sea Grant Welcomes New Assistant Director
Dr. Cynthia Suchman joined Virginia Sea Grant in June as the new assistant director. Suchman is a biological oceanographer with a background in zooplankton ecology, and holds a doctorate from the University of Rhode Island (1998). Prior to coming on board with Virginia Sea Grant, Suchman served as a Maryland Sea Grant REU Fellow at the Chesapeake Biological Lab and as a Knauss Fellow with the Resources Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives. more...

Correa New Sea Grant Mid-Atlantic Communications Representative
Angela Correa, one of three Sea Grant communicators in Virginia, was recently selected as the new regional representative for communicators from the states of NJ, MD, DE, VA, and NC. The one-year appointment seeks to encourage interstate cooperation on issues of regional interest, and to bring the concerns of the region’s communicators to the attention of the national communications steering committee. more...

Combined Yellow Perch Aquaculture Nutrition and Water Quality Research
Civil and Environmental Engineering Ph.D. candidate Amy Cheatham is in the process of conducting a project that will determine the impacts of yellow perch (Perca flavescens) nutrition on water quality and the prevalence of microbial colonies in recirculating aquaculture systems. more...

Seafood Allergies on the Rise
Food manufacturers will have to watch the seafood content of food products as new findings show that allergies to seafood and fish are much more prevalent than once thought, affecting more than 6.5 million Americans. more...

Jahncke Leads Thailand HACCP Workshops
Dr. Michael Jahncke, Director of the Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hampton, VA, recently traveled to Bangkok, Thailand as part of a delegation that included faculty from the University of California-Davis and Virginia Tech, as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. more...

Seafood Reference Database Serves Up Answers for Research and Industry
If you're looking for specific seafood safety and quality research references and don't want to spend hours wading through all the fish biology and pathology references to get them, give the CFAST Seafood Reference Database a try. more...

Fishery Biologist Studies Riparian American Eel Decline
Current research suggests that erosion in small freshwater streams could be a contributing factor in the decline of American eel populations over the last two decades.more...