THE BLUEPRINT:\n<\/p>\n
17 Long Island<\/a> aquaculture<\/a> businesses awarded $1.2M in funding.<\/p>\n Grants are designed to support equipment upgrades, production and operational efficiency.\n<\/p>\n Hampton Oyster Company<\/a> adopts digital grading technology to boost oyster throughput.\n<\/p>\n Next funding round of $3M opens Nov. 3 for aquaculture infrastructure projects.<\/p>\n New York State Agriculture Commissioner Richard Ball visited Hampton Oyster Company in New Suffolk earlier this week to announce that 17 Long Island small businesses will receive a combined $1.2 million to expand the region\u2019s aquaculture industry. The grants will help producers purchase and upgrade equipment, streamline operations and increase production capacity, reinforcing the area\u2019s role in New York\u2019s growing seafood economy.\n<\/p>\n This initiative is part of the Long Island Aquaculture Infrastructure Grant Program, which is part of the state\u2019s Blue Food Transformation<\/a> Initiative. First announced in 2024, the program aims to reinvigorate New York\u2019s aquaculture and wild-caught seafood industries while strengthening local food systems<\/a> to support a sustainable seafood<\/a> economy.\n<\/p>\n Now, the program is gearing up for its second round of funding. An additional $3 million for infrastructure projects will be available, with applications opening on Nov. 3.\n<\/p>\n \u201cNew York State is home to a rich, diverse agricultural landscape that doesn\u2019t stop at the shoreline,\u201d Ball said in a news release about the funding. \u201cLong Island\u2019s aquaculture producers work tirelessly to raise the fresh, abundant seafood that make the region so beloved by residents and visitors alike.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Both the funding awarded this week, as well as the next round of funding, he said, \u201cwill help these businesses make much-needed upgrades to their equipment, so they can continue bringing the very best seafood New York State has to offer to tables across the state.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The funding comes at a time when oyster farming<\/a> is flourishing, experts say. Commercial fishermen on Long Island sustainably harvested over 16 million pounds of finfish in 2023, worth over $28 million dollars, according to New York State. According to the most recent USDA Census of Agriculture, the aquaculture industry accounts for over 25 percent of Long Island farms, with 155 operations in Suffolk County and 15 in Nassau County.\u200b Combined, the two counties generated over $14.5 million in sales in 2022.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAquaculture, especially oyster farming, is booming on Long Island, with consistent double-digit growth and over 10 million oysters harvested in 2024,\u201d Eric Koepele, president of the Long Island Oyster Growers Association, said in the news release.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWe have the talent and expertise, from hatcheries to sales, to scale our industry from 10 million to 100 million oysters annually, rivaling Chesapeake and Canada,\u201d he said. \u201cThe challenge? Securing the capital to expand our gear and infrastructure. The New York Department of Agriculture and Markets sees our potential and our hurdles, and today\u2019s announcements are bold, meaningful steps that will accelerate the growth of Long Island\u2019s aquaculture industry.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Hampton Oyster Company received funding in the first round to adopt digital grading technology that automates sorting oysters by size, shape and weight. The system uses high-speed imaging and sensors, allowing the company to nearly double its throughput\u2014the number of oysters it can process and prepare for sale in a given period\u2014without adding labor or operational overhead. The technology is designed to improve consistency, helping Hampton Oyster meet growing market demand and appeal to wholesale and high-end retail<\/a> customers.\n<\/p>\n \u201cAquaculture is one of New York\u2019s most promising blue-economy opportunities,\u201d Joe Finora, co-founder of the Hampton Oyster Company, said in the news release.\n<\/p>\n \u201cEvery oyster we grow filters our bays, supports local jobs and strengthens our working waterfronts,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re grateful to New York State Agriculture and Markets for recognizing this potential and investing in the future of our industry \u2013 an investment that will serve as a catalyst for meaningful growth and position Long Island as a national leader in sustainable seafood production.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Additional awardees include Long Island Shellfish Company, Scrimshaw Enterprises, Widow\u2019s Hole Oysters, Davy Jones Landing, Little A\u2019s Oysters, Great South Bay Oyster Farms, North Fork Big Oyster, Remsenburg Project Managers, Montauk Shellfish Company, Bombshell Oyster Farm, Oyster Bay Shellfish Company, Neguntatogue Oysters, Violet Cove Oysters Co., Cornelius & Little Ram Oyster Co., Ockers Oyster Co., and Spinelli\u2019s Sea Farms.\n<\/p>\n The funding \u201cwill help support critical infrastructure and equipment enhancements for our aquaculture farmers, ensuring that they can continue to thrive for years to come,\u201d Juan Miceli-Martinez, president of Long Island Farm Bureau, said in the news release.\n<\/p>\n Earlier this year, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul announced the Long Island Seafood Cuisine Trail, also funded by the Blue Food Transformation Initiative. The South Shore Trail, running from Bay Shore to Montauk, aims to boost business and tourism at locations serving locally raised and sustainably harvested seafood while promoting Long Island\u2019s seafood industry<\/a>. The North Shore Trail, stretching from Oyster Bay to Greenport, is expected to launch in the coming months.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"THE BLUEPRINT: 17 Long Island aquaculture businesses awarded $1.2M in funding. Grants are designed to support equipment upgrades,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":15179,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[11117,11118,11119,11120,11121,776,9,11122,11,10,49,51,50,11123,11124,11125],"class_list":["post-15178","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-aquaculture","tag-aquaculture-grants","tag-blue-food-transformation","tag-hampton-oyster-company","tag-local-food-systems","tag-long-island","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-agriculture","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news","tag-oyster-farming","tag-seafood-industry","tag-sustainable-seafood"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15178","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15178"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15178\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15179"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15178"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15178"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15178"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}