ARS Joins Effort to Boost Oyster Production

A scientist from USDA’s Agricultural Research Service in Rhode Island has joined a team of researchers working to restore oysters along the Eastern seaboard. The group is developing new methods to accelerate selective breeding and expand it to new regions along the East Coast. Oyster production has been declining since the 1940s due rising water temperatures, changes in salinity, and Dermo disease.

In addition to being considered a seafood delicacy, oysters are important to the marine environment. As filter feeders, they help improve water quality as they filter their food from the water.

“We are hoping to associate traits like fast growth, disease resistance, and low salinity tolerance with specific regions of the genome,” said Dina Proestou, a research geneticist with ARS’s National Cold Water Marine Aquaculture Center in Kingston, RI. “Once we have that information, we can breed oysters that possess these features in less time and with greater precision.” 

More information can be found at https://tellus.ars.usda.gov/stories/articles/ars-joins-effort-to-boost-oyster-production