{"id":235801,"date":"2026-06-09T08:46:56","date_gmt":"2026-06-09T18:46:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=235801"},"modified":"2026-06-09T09:01:33","modified_gmt":"2026-06-09T19:01:33","slug":"grant-seafood-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/09\/grant-seafood-supply\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> joins $13.5M consortium to strengthen U.S.<\/abbr> seafood supply"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"Pacific
Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is set to play a pivotal role in a new national effort to strengthen America\u2019s seafood supply and expand sustainable aquaculture. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the creation of the Cooperative Institute Fostering Aquaculture Research and Markets (CIFARM<\/abbr>).<\/p>\n

Funded by an initial $13.5 million investment for its first year, this five-year cooperative institute aims to harness partnerships with researchers to unlock the potential of U.S.<\/abbr> marine aquaculture. The University of New Hampshire will serve as the host institution, with UH<\/abbr> participating as one of five core consortium members in this competitive national program.<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> research team is being led by Associate Professor Chatham Callan out of the UH<\/abbr> Hilo Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center<\/a> (PACRC<\/abbr>). Callan is joined by co-investigators Professor Maria Haws of PACRC<\/abbr>, Associate Research Professor Erik Franklin of the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Institute of Marine Biology<\/a> in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at UH<\/abbr> Mānoa,<\/span> and Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Sea Grant Associate Director for Extension Darren Okimoto and several other UH<\/abbr> Faculty partners.<\/p>\n

“Being selected as a core member of CIFARM<\/abbr> is a testament to the decades of world-class aquaculture research happening right here in Â鶹´«Ã½,”<\/span> said Callan. “Through our partnerships with Native Hawaiian communities, we draw on a tradition of ocean stewardship and fishpond engineering that stretches back centuries. Our UH<\/abbr> team is excited to bring that unique Pacific perspective and expertise to the national stage. By focusing on cutting-edge tech, environmental forecasting, and real-world marine demonstration projects, we are actively building the blueprint for a more resilient, self-sufficient seafood industry.”<\/p>\n

$24B in imported seafood annually<\/h2>\n

CIFARM<\/abbr>‘s core mission is to solve real-world challenges affecting seafood producers and consumers while reducing the nation’s reliance on imported seafood. Currently, Americans consume more than $24 billion in imported seafood annually, with approximately half estimated to be farmed overseas. By advancing domestic aquaculture, CIFARM<\/abbr> aims to bolster national food security, create jobs and uplift coastal economies in complement to wild-capture fisheries.<\/p>\n

The UH<\/abbr> team will contribute to a broad range of research priorities. CIFARM<\/abbr> researchers will investigate scientific solutions that can be leveraged for industry advancement. Key focus areas include engineering and technology development, artificial intelligence for aquaculture, environmental observations and forecasting, and marine aquaculture demonstration projects. The consortium will also conduct critical risk management, vulnerability analyses and seafood market research. The Hawaii team will also partner with USAPI<\/abbr> researchers, including University of Guam Sea Grant and the Marine & Environmental Research Institute<\/a> in FSM<\/abbr> to extend CIFARM<\/abbr>\u2019s reach throughout the Pacific.<\/p>\n

“This partnership underscores the University of Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> vital role in advancing sustainable aquaculture systems that directly impact our global food supply,” said Norman Arancon, director of the UH<\/abbr> Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management. “We have always championed practical, impactful science. Through CIFARM<\/abbr>, our researchers and students will be at the forefront of a $13.5 million national effort, utilizing Â鶹´«Ã½\u2019s<\/span> unique seascape to drive economic growth, bolster food security, and train the next generation of leaders in sustainable marine aquaculture.”<\/p>\n

Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> is uniquely positioned for this work. The state is already home to Blue Ocean Mariculture in Kona, currently the only offshore fish farm in the U.S.<\/abbr>, providing a vital real-world connection to the consortium’s demonstration and commercialization goals.<\/p>\n

In addition to University of New Hampshire and UH<\/abbr>, the network includes Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Sea Grant, New Hampshire Sea Grant, the University of Miami, Florida Sea Grant, the University of Southern Mississippi, the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute and California Sea Grant.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UH<\/abbr> is set to play a pivotal role in a new national effort to strengthen America\u2019s seafood supply and expand sustainable aquaculture.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":235150,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[1246,93,53,1314,267,92,635,73,14,9,438,947],"class_list":["post-235801","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research","tag-aquaculture","tag-climate-change","tag-hawaii-institute-of-marine-biology","tag-manoa-sustainability","tag-pacific-aquaculture-and-coastal-resources-center","tag-school-of-ocean-and-earth-science-and-technology","tag-sea-grant-college-program","tag-sustainability","tag-uh-hilo","tag-uh-manoa","tag-uh-sea-grant","tag-uh-system","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/hilo-pacrc.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235801","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235801"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235801\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235806,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235801\/revisions\/235806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235150"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235801"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235801"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235801"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}