Ken LaValley, Extension Specialist, Commercial Fisheries Technology Transfer, received the following grants:

Software for Objective Evaluation of Nearshore and Offshore Fish Farms - $69,800
This project, funded by the Northeastern Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC) for USDA
Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Funding, will be used to develop a predictive tool to assess the potential for benthic and water column impacts of commercial scale finfish farming in open ocean environments. The project is a collaboration between UNH, URI, Dalhousie University in British Columbia as well as several private environmental businesses.

Technology Transfer in the Northern Shrimp Fishery - $5,000
The National Marine Fisheries Service and Maine Sea Grant Project Development Funds awarded $5,000 to facilitate the transfer of two conservation engineered fishing gears: the dual-grid system, designed by Pingguo He, Extension Specialist, Fisheries, and the non-parallel bar separator, designed by Maine commercial fisherman Kelo Pinkham and the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Both gear designs virtually eliminate bycatch of non-target species and instead, target the larger, higher-valued shrimp.