Summer may be over, but cleaning our coastal areas can be a yearlong project. On August 12 of 2023, volunteers spent two hours collecting over 110 pounds of trash in the Long Wharf Drive and the Long Wharf Nature Preserve in New Haven. the cleanup kicking off the 2023 #DontTrashLISound campaign led by Connecticut Sea […]
CT Sea Grant
Federal funds will enhance aquaculture education, kelp farming
Two federal grants totaling almost $600,000 will help launch two new initiatives considered crucial to the long-term viability of the state’s aquaculture industry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Sea Grant program will provide a $398,896 grant to Connecticut Sea Grant for a two-year project to assess workforce development needs. The grant was one of […]
‘Seaweed Food Safety’ report examines federal, state regulations
The National Sea Grant Law Center has announced the release of a new seaweed food safety publication produced in partnership with New York Sea Grant and Connecticut Sea Grant as part of the National Seaweed Hub. “Seaweed Food Safety: Comparing Compliance with Preventive Controls for Human Food with Seafood HACCP” was developed to help the emerging […]
Registration open for 2024 shellfish farming course
The 2024 “Foundations of Shellfish Farming” course will be offered at the UConn Avery Point campus over 12 weeks starting Jan. 16. The classes will meet on Tuesdays from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. through April 2 in Room 312 of the Lowell P. Weicker Jr. Building. Registration is now open and financial aid is available. […]
Payne named to Global Group of Ocean Literacy Experts
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization has established an international Group of Experts on Ocean Literacy, with 20 members from diverse disciplines, stakeholder groups, geographical regions, and with a focus on gender balance. The group includes Connecticut Sea Grant Education Coordinator Diana Payne. UNESCO’s Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC/UNESCO) selected for its new Group […]
Native Plants for Riparian Corridors in CT Guide Available
The Native Plants for Riparian Corridors in CT guide from Connecticut Sea Grant is now available! The guide includes native trees, shrubs, ferns, grasses, sedges, reeds and herbaceous plants that can grow and thrive along bodies of water. Download the guide at seagrant.uconn.edu/?p=10305
New England Kelp Harvest Week
Join us for the New England Kelp Harvest Week celebration April 20th through April 30th! Connecticut Sea Grant has been collaborating with the state’s aquaculture industry to develop sugar kelp farming and a market for the product. This week kelp famers are partnering with restaurants across Connecticut to provide tasty dishes with locally grown kelp. […]
Connecticut Sea Grant’s 2022 Annual Report Now Available
Post by Connecticut Sea Grant Connecticut Sea Grant’s 2022 Annual Report is now available as a downloadable pdf. It offers highlights of CTSG’s accomplishments for the 2021-22 Sea Grant fiscal year, which runs from February 2021 through January 2022. The annual report features information about CTSG’s budget and summaries of projects and programs in: fisheries […]
9 Projects Focus on LIS Marshes, Water Quality, Public Beaches
Long Island Sound water quality, salt marsh and public beach characteristics will be examined by marine and social scientists in nine research projects awarded funding by the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs (CTSG and NYSG respectively) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound Study (LISS) Research Grant Program. These new projects, […]
Foundations of Shellfish Farming Training Course 2023
Registration: http://s.uconn.edu/shellfish Cost: $300 Foundations of Shellfish Farming is a training course for new and prospective farmers and those who simply seek to learn more about aquaculture practices and techniques. Topics that will be covered include: how to establish and operate a shellfish business; leasing and permitting requirements; considerations for gear, vessels, and facilities, shellfish biology, aquaculture techniques and best practices, and risks […]
Novice or veteran, fishermen value safety & survival training
Participants in Safety at Sea training practice boarding a life raft. Story and photos by Judy Benson Dan Russell and Abraham Powell are at opposite ends of their fishing careers. While both work from vessels docked in New London, Russell is a boat captain who’s been fishing for 50 years. Powell is brand new, having […]
Community climate planning projects underway in four CT cities
Doreen Abubaker, of the Community Placement Engagement Network and West River Watershed Partnership, talks to a group at the New Haven Folk Festival about climate change impacts in New Haven and the upcoming Climathon. Photo: Steve Hamm. Four Connecticut cities have joined a pilot project to boost community participation in climate change planning. Community activities […]
2022 Long Island Sound Research Conference Announced
The 2022 Long Island Sound Research Conference will take place in Bridgeport on May 25, 2022. Oral presentations and posters across disciplines in natural and social sciences that contribute to the four themes of the Long Island Sound Study CCMP are welcome. These are: Clean waters and healthy watershed Thriving habitats and abundant wildlife Sustainable […]
#DoOneThing theme of 2021 #DontTrashLISound campaign
The Connecticut Sea Grant program, joined by volunteers from Save the Sound, the Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk and other groups, will launch the fifth annual #DontTrashLISound campaign with a cleanup at Sherwood Island State Park in Westport on Aug. 16. This year’s campaign, run by the Connecticut and New York Sea Grant programs with support […]
Teacher Webinar Offered on Long Island Sound Habitats
A new educational tool for teachers will be showcased in an Aug. 19 webinar sponsored by the Long Island Sound Study national estuary program and its partners Connecticut Sea Grant (CTSG) and New York Sea Grant (NYSG). Titled “A Spotlight on Long Island Sound Habitats,” the webinar will showcase a Next Generation Science Standards-based StoryMap […]
Job Openings – CT Sea Grant
CT Sea Grant is now accepting applications for the following positions: Regional Aquaculture Liaison Assistant Extension Educator Sustainable and Resilient Communities Assistant Extension Educator Apply Today! Connecticut Sea Grant, the Department of Extension, College of Agriculture Health and Natural Resources, University of Connecticut, and the NOAA Milford Lab invite applications for a Regional Aquaculture […]
Gov. Lamont Signs Legislation Supporting Continued Growth of CT’s Shellfish Industry
Stratford – Gov. Ned Lamont joined legislators, state officials, agricultural advocates and business representatives on July 23 for a bill signing ceremony near the shore of the Long Island Sound to commemorate the enactment of legislation implementing policies that will support continued growth of Connecticut’s shellfish industry in an effort to increase the populations of oysters […]
Updated App, New Rules & Soggy Summer: Time For a Rain Garden
Story and photos by Judy Benson July’s wet weather may have dampened plans for beach days and barbeques, but it’s also a reminder of an environmental problem homeowners can help solve in their own yards. The excess of rainfall—about twice the amount normally seen so far this month—means more stormwater tainted with lawn chemicals, oil […]
New Haven artist chosen for 2021 CTSG Arts Support Award
Beachcombing with his wife and two children led New Haven artist Joseph Smolinski to the source of inspiration and raw materials for works he will create for Connecticut Sea Grant’s 2021 Arts Support Award Program that reflect on the human impacts of climate change. His project, titled “Carbon Adrift: Sea Coal in the Long Island […]
1st marine economics fellow to focus on natural coastal resources
By Judy Benson Oversimplified, shoreline beaches are where the sand meets the sea. Too often, this two-dimensional view has become the foundation of efforts to restore storm and erosion-battered beaches on Long Island Sound and other coastal areas. These projects mainly seek to widen the flat open sand swathe to maintain maximum recreational worth and […]
ACE C & A Awards – UConn 2021
We would like to congratulate all of the UConn Extension team members who received awards from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE)! Thank you for your hard work and continued efforts. All award recipients will be recognized at the ACE virtual conference in June. Rising Star Award Recipient: Stacey Stearns C & A Awards […]
NOAA Live! Webinar: Kelp Farming in Coastal Waters with Anoushka Concepcion and Holly Turner-Moore
Anoushka Concepcion, one of our Extension educators with Connecticut Sea Grant, and Holly Turner-Moore, from the Bridgeport Aquaculture High School, introduce students to Kelp Farming during their presentation in the NOAA Live! Webinar Series.
Healthy Soils to be Focus of 2021 Coastal Certificate Program
This year’s Coastal Certificate Program will take place virtually over four days in mid-May. Led by Judy Preston, CT Sea Grant’s Long Island Sound outreach coordinator, this year’s classes will emphasize healthy soils at the root of healthy gardens, landscapes, and ultimately the watersheds that are essential to clean waters and a healthy Sound. The […]
‘Right Trees for the Right Time’ series begins March 10
Connecticut Sea Grant is joining with the Avalonia Land Conservancy and UConn CLEAR in presenting, “Finding the Right Trees for the Right Time,” a series of four talks about planning and planting for a resilient coastal forest in southeastern Connecticut. The series begins March 10, culminating in a June 9 presentation by Juliana Barrett, coastal […]
American Lobster Research & Extension Initiative newsletter
The first issue of the Connecticut newsletter for the American Lobster Research and Extension Initiative, a project of seven Northeast Sea Grant programs including Connecticut Sea Grant, is now available. The newsletter is part of the regional Lobster Extension Program to complement and enhance the research component of NOAA Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative. Read […]
UConn Extension & Wrack Lines Awards
UConn Extension We are delighted to share that UConn Extension has received three national awards from the Association of Communication Excellence: Gold Award – Marketing – Budget Under $1000: Bug Week – Kara Bonsack and Stacey Stearns Silver Award – Marketing – Budget Over $1000: Ask UConn Extension – Kara Bonsack, Stacey Stearns, Mike Zaritheny and […]
Marsh migration research paved way for new NOAA fellow
Most visitors to Hammonasset Beach State Park in Madison, Conn., probably drive by the small stand of cedar trees along the main road without noticing the stark differences. One group presents healthy deep green funnels pointing skyward. Adjacent is another group partially bare of needles. A few feet away is a clump of standing dead […]
Seafood survey could help further increase in demand
With national data showing Americans have been eating more fish and shellfish during the COVID-19 pandemic, a new report on a survey of Connecticut residents’ seafood consumption habits and preferences offers timely information seafood dealers can use to help make the increase permanent. The final report on the Connecticut Seafood Survey, a project to better understand […]
Safety Training Helps Fishermen Survive in a Dangerous Job
By Judy Benson Originally posted by Connecticut Sea Grant Groton – Chris Fowler knows the perils of his occupation as a commercial fisherman, consistently ranked one of nation’s the most dangerous jobs. So a year after he began catching skate, whiting, squid, flounder and fluke from a vessel docked in New London, he took a day […]
CT Sea Grant Awarded Grant to Grow Aquaculture and Shellfisheries
Tessa Getchis, Connecticut Sea Grant/UConn Extension aquaculture educator at the University of Connecticut, has been awarded a grant totaling $315,240 to enhance the growth of Connecticut aquaculture and shellfisheries. The project, titled “Listening, Learning and Leading to Support Shellfish Aquaculture Growth in Connecticut and the Nation” is funded by the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program’s […]