Program & Schedule

Friday, November 14

12:00 pm – 4:00 pm Trade Show

1:00 pm – 3:00 pm General Session

Welcome Address by the Honorable Joseph Guthrie, Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services

• Virginia Aquaculture Today: A Snapshot of Species, Scale, and Success
• Agriculture innovation and Virginia partnerships. Daniel Haskett, Canon USA
• Building a resilient, sustainable and intelligent seafood supply chain for Virginia. Yiming Feng, VT Seafood AREC

• Oyster Production: Recent Trends and Market Potential. Bobbi Hudson, Robert Rheault*, Matt Parker and Michael Rubino

• Crop Insurance Q&A with USDA Risk Management Agency (RMA), Farm Service Agency (FSA) and Farm Bureau Insurance
• 3 min tech talks featuring: Ketcham Supply, OysterGro, SEAPA, Oyster Seed Holdings, Blue Trace, and Atlantic Aquafarm

3:00 pm – 4:00 pm BREAK and Networking

3:15 pm – 4:00 pm Virginia Oyster Trail State of the Union Meeting (open to all)

4:00 pm – 5:00 pm Shellfish Growers of Virginia Member Meeting (open to all)

5:30 pm – 8:30 pm Aquaculture Reception (provided)

Saturday, November 15

7:00 am – 8:00 am Breakfast (provided)

7:30 am – 8:30 am (bivalve) Hatcheries over Hash Browns – an interactive session for hatchery staff hosted by the Acuff Center for Aquaculture

8:30 am – 10:00 am CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Bivalve Shellfish Breakout Session

Molecular Muscles: Genetic Tools for Better Bivalves.  Learn about commercially-available tools and their real-world applications.

• Genomics at Work: Accelerating Oyster Breeding for a Stronger Aquaculture Industry
• Harnessing efficient genetic improvement to maximize economic return in oysters. Sam May, Center for Aquaculture Technologies (CAT)
• Using molecular tools to inform commercial hard clam breeding. Lexy McCarty, Cherrystone Aquafarms

•  Application of tools to assess genetic health of ABC’s selected lines of oysters. Robin Varney, VIMS ABC

• Large-scale genetic structure and genetic impacts on oyster performance in the field. Katie Lotterhos, Northeastern University

Improving Aquaculture Production – opportunities and innovations

• Addressing Labor Demand and Production Efficiency in Shellfish Aquaculture.  Caela Gilsinan, VIMS
• From stress to solutions: Identifying opportunities for farm innovation through a nationwide needs assessment. Matt LaGanke, VIMS
• Use of drones in clam aquaculture. Katie Houle, Pacific Shellfish Institute
• Co-culture of sea lettuce and oysters.  Madeline Pitsenbarger, VIMS

General Aquaculture Breakout Session

 Updates from the Agencies:

• Virginia Dept. Wildlife Resources (VDWR) – Brendan Delbos
• Virginia State University College of Agriculture (VSU-COA) – Chris Mullins
• VT-Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center (VSAREC) – Michael Schwarz
• Seafood Economic Analysis and Marketing Research (SEAMaR) – Jonathan van Senten
• Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) – Scott Lowman
• Virginia Dept. of Agriculture and Consumer Services – Tom Lavelle and Carrie Umberger

10:00 – 11:00 am BREAK

11:00 am – 12:00 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Bivalve Shellfish Breakout Session

Voices from the Water: Regional Perspectives in bivalve Farming.  Moderator; Bill Walton.

• ME/VA – Jeff Auger, Atlantic Aqua Farms
• TX – Ellis Chapman, Harte Research Institute at TAMU-CC
• NC – Conor MacNair, N. SEA Oyster Co.
• FL – Cainnon Gregg, Pelican Oyster Co.

From restoration to revenue: Bay scallop culture on the Eastern Shore of VA.

• Restoration and Research.  Richard Snyder, VIMS ESL
• Commercial application. Lee Beauchamp, Baywater Seafood

General Aquaculture Breakout Session

Cultivating Innovation: Lessons from Aquaponics and the Future of Striped Bass Farming

• The Evolution of Aquaponics: a 30 yr perspective, Charlie Shultz, Santa Fe Community College
• StriperHub  – supporting growth of the striped bass aquaculture industry by demonstrating effective commercial-level culture, economics, and marketing practices.  Eric Herbst, North Carolina Sea Grant

12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Lunch (provided)

1:00 pm – 2:00 pm CONCURRENT SESSIONS

Bivalve Shellfish Breakout Session

Shellfish Health and Biosecurity Panel: Learn how researchers and growers are working together to improve biosecurity, understand unexpected mortality and poor health, and stay ahead of emerging threats.

• Perspectives on shellfish disease and biosecurity.  Ryan Carnegie, VIMS
• Good news story for Atlantic and Gulf coasts regarding OsHV1. Colleen Burge, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
• Investigating causes of mortality in cultured hard clams. Mark Brush, VIMS
• A ‘Waffle House Index’ for Oyster Growers to Gauge Crop Health.  Bill Walton, VIMS

General Aquaculture Breakout Session

From Farm to Future: Unlocking Value in Aquaculture

• Redefining Farm-Raised Fish. Ty Walker, Smoke in Chimneys
• CEA and K12. Grace Duregger, VT Seafood AREC
• Beyond the fillet – turning fish processing byproducts into profitable opportunities. Yiming Feng, VT Seafood AREC

2:00 pm Conference Ends

2:30 pm – 4:00 pm
Attendees are invited to stay and join in a listening session with refreshments on Addressing Food System Resilience in Virginia Aquaculture. Register here by November 5.