International Workshop on Bioextractive Technologies for Nutrient Remediation Summary Report

On December 3 and 4, 2009, the Long Island Sound Study (LISS) brought together an international roster of experts to discuss new and innovative technologies to address the management of eutrophication and hypoxia in the Long Island Sound. The workshop explored the potential application of extractive aquaculture technologies of macroalgal and shellfish cultivation for nutrient mitigation in the near shore estuarine environments of the Sound. Nutrient bioextraction is defined here as “an environmental management strategy by which nutrients are removed from an aquatic ecosystem through the harvest of enhanced biological production, including the aquaculture of suspension-feeding shellfish or algae.” These emerging technologies would complement existing nutrient source control programs. The workshop program was designed to bring experts in macroalgae and shellfish cultivation, integrated multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA), resource economics and coastal modeling together with local partners to discuss the potential benefits of these technologies to the Sound and other urban estuarine environments. Goals of the workshop included: increasing awareness of alternatives for nutrient management on the part of federal/state/municipal agencies and coastal managers; an assessment of the local feasibility of this approach including suggestions for pilot projects and locations; and the identification of opportunities for economic incentives for nutrient bioextraction through nitrogen credit trading or other practices.

The workshop was co-sponsored by the Long Island Sound Study (a partnership of federal and state agencies, user groups, concerned organizations, and individuals dedicated to restoring and protecting the Sound), Environmental Protection Agency, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission, and University of Connecticut, and was held at the University of Connecticut’s Stamford Campus. Over 100 people were in attendance each day. Participants represented a variety of organizations, including local, state and fede ral agencies, shellfish growers and industry representatives, academics and non-profits. Invited speakers were as follows:
1) Bela Buck, Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar Research, Bremerhaven, Germany;
2) Alejandro Buschmann, Universidad de Los Lagos, Puerto Montt, Chile;
3) Stephen Cross, University of Victoria, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada;
4) Hauke Kite-Powell, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts, USA;
5) Dale Kiefer, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA;
6) Richard Langan, University of New Hampshire, Durham, New Hampshire, USA;
7) Odd Lindahl, University of Gothenburg, Sweden;
8) Robin Miller, HydroQual, Inc., New Jersey, USA;
9) Roger Newell, Horn Point Laboratory, University of Maryland, Cambridge, Maryland, USA;
10) Robert Rheault, East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Wakefield, Rhode Island, USA; &
11) Kurt Stephenson, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia, USA

The structure of the workshop was a series of dynamic presentations on the first day and morning of the second day. The entire afternoon of the second day was devoted to a panel discussion by experts in aquaculture and local environmental laws and regulations. The panel was moderated by Charles Yarish from the University of Connecticut. Panelists were as follows:
1) Jeanette Brown, Executive Director of the Stamford Water Pollution Control Authority and advisory board member of the Connecticut Nitrogen Credit Exchange Program, Stamford, CT, USA
2) David Carey, Director of the Connecticut Department of Agriculture, Bureau of Aquaculture, Milford, CT, USA
3) Curt Johnson, Senior Staff Attorney, Connecticut Fund for the Environment, New Haven, CT, USA
4) Paul Mankiewicz, Executive Director of the Gaia Institute, Bronx, NY, USA
5) Robert Rheault, Executive Director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, Wakefield, RI, USA