Preserving the Chesapeake Bay’s Rich Ecosystem

BY JASMINE SHENG

Have you ever taken your boat out to the Chesapeake Bay and wondered how the area is supporting the seafood industry? Hampton Roads is home to some of the most well-known seafood in the United States. A quick 0.1-mile stroll from the Virginia Air and Space Center is home to the new Virginia Seafood Agricultural Research and Extension Center, notably known as the Virginia Seafood AREC, or VSAREC. Being wedged between two of the oldest seafood processors—LD Armory Company and Graham & Rollins Inc.—allows the VSAREC to build strong relationships with the neighboring seafood community. The new $10 million laboratory space also helps support Virginia’s seafood industry and beyond.

“We are in the perfect location for making an impact in the seafood industry because the seafood industry is so big right where we are. Same with the Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Hampton Roads area and within Virginia in general as it is a big cultural thing as people love their seafood in Virginia,” said Charles T. Clark, aquaculture economics and marketing research for the VSAREC.

The organization’s leadership says that the 22,224 squarefoot facility enhances research capacity, positioning the center to support the industry and its research partners. “Our main purpose is to respond to stakeholders in the seafood industry and beyond the seafood industry,” said Jonathan van Senten, economist and assistant director at the VSAREC and assistant professor in the Virginia Tech Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics.

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“We do things like partner with others in offshore winds, coastal resilience, food safety, new novel technologies and technology adoption. Even though we are named the Virginia Seafood AREC, the implementation of the work we do goes beyond seafood.”

Choosing to build a new laboratory facility in the Hampton Roads area is optimal for VSAREC’s research as the area is renowned for being a hub in the seafood industry. The Virginia Seafood AREC helps to serve watermen, crabbers, aqua culturists, and seafood distributors with a focus on aquaculture, microbiology, engineering and food safety training.

“The seafood industry in Virginia and especially the Hampton Roads area has fishing ports, processors, distributors, lots of watermen and fish farms within the waters in the area,” said van Senten. “That has been part of this community for a long time. The working waterfront historically has been an important part of the commonwealth and it is still here today.” The research that the Virginia Seafood AREC conducts heavily involves the relationships that they have built within the industry. Fishermen, watermen, aquaculture farmers, seafood processors, and distributors all work diligently to provide seafood to consumers within Virginia and on a national level.

“Location is important because we are a kind of steward for the industry. We have connections within the industry, so we are constantly up to date with their challenges and with how they’re performing. Our location definitely helps out our ability to research and our ability to collaborate and build relationships with the industry,” said Clark. “To build good relationships, we have to put a lot of time into gathering data that we need for studies, and that involves visiting the farmers and conducting the surveys with them. I was visiting farmers all across the East Coast to sit with them and complete surveys, have interviews and learn about the firm. There’s a lot of time and trust building that goes along with the research.”

One focus of research for the VSAREC is to help understand how the industry changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, seafood producers faced challenges such as implementing new guidelines and safety measures for processors and wholesalers. The industry also faced supply chain issues that stemmed beyond the industry. Seafood restaurants shut down which was hard for the seafood industry because the bulk consumption of seafood is consumed in restaurants and less within homes. The pandemic also changed consumer preferences within the seafood industry.

The research had the goal of identifying what issues people within the seafood industry were suffering from in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and how to tackle the issues. The research conducted demonstrated a need for assistance within the seafood industry during the COVID-19 pandemic. The research then had a direct impact on the industry in helping provide alleviation from the negative impact from supply chain issues.

“We did a national study of what was going on in the industry and collected that information, wrote reports and got the information out there for our federal partners,” said Senten. “They took that information and used that as part of their justification to include aquaculture as part of their relief program for the USDA. If it had not been for that effort, then it is likely that aquaculture would not be included in some of the federal relief efforts that farmers could apply for assistance.”

The seafood industry also plays an important role in Virginia’s economy. Governor Glenn Youngkin has stated that Virginia’s economy has been boosted due to the seafood industry being a $1.1 billion industry. Researchers do a deep dive in analyzing the seafood economy and market research to help further understand how to navigate possible aquaculture challenges fisheries could face.

The VSAREC also has a research focus on quantifying farm level events. “The research goal was to determine the individual farm costs of regulatory compliances. This includes the costs of permits and licenses,” said Clark. “Unfortunately, in Virginia and other states within the country, these things don’t happen overnight. There is a burden of costs associated with the permits and licenses because there’s lost opportunity costs for not being able to grow. Outside of permits and licenses, there’s also certain compliance activities you have to partake in mostly dealing with food safety. The goal of the research is to identify the cost of compliance and identify if we could streamline any permit approval processes to save time and make it less burdensome on the farmers.”

The Virginia Seafood AREC features a sustainable food systems program that aims to help individuals to understand cellular agriculture, bioprocessing, food safety, smart agriculture and alternative protein sources. Using innovative technologies will allow researchers to gain a better understanding of food safety, quality and production. The food safety program offers technical assistance to businesses to help them make sure that their products are up to industry standards in quality and safety.

These training opportunities also allow the researchers and extension specialists to communicate with members of the seafood industry and understand firsthand the challenges they face. The opportunities for training include quality, sanitation, allergen controls and good manufacturing practices that are provided in English and Spanish. The new programs will also work alongside the Virginia Tech Smart Farm Innovation Network to help build new seafood frontiers.

The VSAREC does not exist to just help support the seafood industry, but to allow visitors and residents of the Chesapeake Bay area to learn more about the waterfront. It allows individuals to get a deeper understanding of the importance of the local seafood industry within the Chesapeake Bay. The Virginia Seafood AREC also features research that helps to understand freshwater, brackish and saltwater systems.

“If people get familiar with the industry, then they’ll take that knowledge into the supermarket and might consider a local option because the local option is supporting their community and is fresher and benefits the industry as well,” said Clark. “The center is open to the public and does have high schoolers visit the building to get hands-on experience learning about the seafood industry and systems within the industry. Having younger groups get involved with the Virginia Seafood AREC will get individuals aware of the industry.” People will travel far and wide to get a taste of the famous seafood in Virginia. Not only will consumers be consuming delicious seafood, but they will be supporting a well-regulated and managed industry. Supporting and buying local seafood will ensure food quality and the sustainability of local fisheries while supporting the local economy.

“Something that is not fully understood and appreciated is that by buying local Virginia seafood, you are supporting an industry that is doing the right thing. Every consumer has purchasing power and every decision you make has an impact,” said van Senten. “It gets very confusing as there are so many different labels out there and so many different programs, so I do think that it can get overwhelming for consumers to make good decisions. I would certainly feel comfortable saying that Virginia products are a good decision because that as an industry, we know first-hand that it is well regulated and well managed.”

The VSAREC facility is not alone; it is part of a network of Agricultural Research and Extension Centers, throughout Virginia. There are 11 centers in cities such as Warsaw, Suffolk, Blackstone, Painter and Glade Springs. Each facility has a different focus on the work they provide within various industries. Each center allows stakeholders to find ways to implement their new technology which allows them to help preserve the environment while also providing for their stakeholders.

While the laboratory space for the Virginia Seafood AREC may be brand new, the VSAREC is no stranger to the Hampton Roads area. The center has operated within the Hampton Roads area since 1975. The old facility had problems, including flooding from the high tides and storms. The flooding would disrupt the aquaculture research and their microbiology lab.

“The new building allows us to expand our capacity for everything that we do and take it to a new level. The lab is bigger and better with new equipment and new capabilities,” said van Senten. “Now we have a BSL2 lab which we didn’t have before. We can work with pathogens in that lab that we couldn’t before. In the past, we could work with warm water species because we didn’t have a way to chill the water down. Now we have chillers in the system and can work with cold water species.” www.arec.vaes.vt.edu/arec/virginia-

The new facility enables the Virginia Seafood AREC to expand its reach and serve new projects and partners in numerous ways. However, one aspect will always remain the same: individuals can count on the VSAREC to help bring awareness and support to the seafood industry within the Chesapeake Bay area and beyond.

Jasmine Sheng is a junior at Virginia Tech studying digital marketing and multimedia journalism. She loves baking, watching rom-coms, and trying new foods. You will most likely find her listening to music or drinking coffee.