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Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery

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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery     R. Smith
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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery   Various tanks, seawater and air systems   R. Smith
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    Algae Room     R. Smith
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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery     R. Smith
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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery     R. Smith
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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery     R. Smith
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    Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery     R. Smith
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The Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery is an 1800 sq.ft. seawater facility that houses ESL’s resident aquaculture research. This building was built to endure the elements, and is elevated to withstand a tidal surge of up to 8’. In extreme or hurricane conditions, the building is equipped with floodgates that can be set in place and ensures building security in tides up to 14’.

The hatchery features four reservoirs to hold, continuously clean, and deliver filtered seawater for hatchery use. Each of these tanks are paired with its own recirculation pump, polishing loop, and heat pump for temperature control. Various water quality parameters can be manipulated in each reservoir independently based on experimental goals or species requirements.

Both the hatchery and its systems boast flexible designs that allow for quick and easy modifications to be made that can cater to a particular species or experimental design. An assortment of larval tank sizes allows for a variety of work from small-scale, replicated cultures to 1000L cultures for higher larval capacity and production.

An isolated microalgal culturing lab houses a subset of microalgal stock cultures as well as higher volume cultures used for shellfish broodstock, larval, and early post-set feeding. Large south facing windows allow for natural sunlight to supplement LED illumination to encourage algal growth. Starter microalgal cultures are available to interested parties free of charge and are regularly provided to local hatcheries upon request.

The hatchery also features a dedicated broodstock room. This room has independent temperature and light control in order to cater to the particular organism(s) being held in this room. Two microalgal mass tanks are also housed in this room and are dedicated to broodstock feeding during the conditioning period.

The Castagna Shellfish Research Hatchery also has it’s own dedicated land based nursery. 20 raceway tables and 6 upwellers are utilized to house juvenile shellfish for research and restoration purposes.

For more information or inquiries, please contact:

Hatchery Manager
Reba T. Smith
[email protected]
757-787-5807


Nursery Manager 
Darian Kelley
[email protected]
757-787-5836