Marine Extension to launch hatchery

Oysters in Georgia (Geoysters?) have a healthy past and now their future is also looking strong, thanks to the efforts of UGA Marine Extension:

Marine Extension has opened the state's first oyster hatchery, which is expected to revive the once-thriving oyster industry in Georgia.

The hatchery will help establish an oyster aquaculture industry in Georgia, allowing harvesters to farm single oysters that can be sold on the half-shell, a lucrative market fueled by rising restaurant and consumer demand. Located on Skidaway Island, the hatchery is expected to produce between 5 million and 6 million spat, or baby oysters, per year by 2018. Experts at the UGA Shellfish Research Laboratory have calculated that these oysters will be worth an estimated $1.6 million when harvested.

Funded through 2016 by the Georgia Department of Natural Resources Coastal Management Program, the hatchery emerged from a collaborative effort between UGA Marine Extension specialists, resource managers with the DNR, the Georgia Department of Agriculture and the Georgia Shellfish Growers Association.

"I'm incredibly proud of our first-ever oyster hatchery in the state," said Mark Risse, director of UGA Marine Extension, a unit of the university's Office of Public Service and Outreach. "We hope to grow the oyster industry and allow farmers to produce oysters in a faster, more cost-effective way."

An engineering faculty member and expert in soil and water conservation, Risse is among UGA's best teachers, researchers and leaders. His involvement at the helm of this outreach and economic development project provides more rich perspective on the impact of the university beyond the classroom. Very good work all around and we look forward to this bounty for many reasons but most of all: we love Geoysters!