URI to host fourth annual Rhode Island
Aquaculture Conference

KINGSTON, R.I. -- October 1, 1999 -- The University of Rhode Island's Cooperative Extension and the Legislative Commission on Aquaculture will host the annual Rhode Island Aquaculture Conference Saturday, November 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. The conference to be held in Chafee Hall, Room 271 on URI's Kingston Campus is open to the public.

The conference is the fourth in a series showcasing Rhode Island aquaculture and its possibilities for enhancing education, our marine and agricultural economy, and enhancing and protecting our environment.

The $25 pre-registration fee, which must be made before October 22, includes a box lunch, snacks and transportation to and from URI to field trip sites. Registration at the door is $50 a person. Special scholarship rates are available for Rhode Island students in elementary through high school grades. Checks can be made payable to "URI Foundation, Aquaculture Conference" and sent to Dr. Michael A. Rice, Dept. of Fisheries, Animal & Veterinary Science, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, R.I. 02881.

Highlights of the day include a keynote address by Luther Blount on the history of Blount Seafoods of Warren and his new initiatives in oyster restoration and public aquaculture, as well as two sessions on aquaculture in the classroom both in Rhode Island and the New England region. Students will present oral and poster aquaculture projects.

Three workshops will be offered: aquaculture business planning and financing by Dr. Robert Comerford of URI's College of Business Administration; aquaculture discharges featuring a number of in-state and national expert speakers, facilitated by Mr. Angelo Liberti of the R.I. Department of Environmental Management, Division of Water Resources; and aquaculture permitting issues featuring expert speakers on a variety of topics, facilitated by Mr. Kevin Cute of the Coastal Resources Management Council.

Participants will have the opportunity to either take a trip aboard the R/V Captain Bert hosted by Mr. David Beutel to explore transient gear aquaculture in Narragansett Bay, visit the new facilities of Hope Shellfish Company in Portsmouth, hosted by Ms. Karin Tammi, or take a tour of the land-based aquaculture facilities at URI's East Farm Facility.

For more information, call Dr. Michael Rice, 401-874-2943.

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For More Information: Jan Sawyer, 401-874-2116