Although the Packard Foundation generously provided a large portion of the funds that supported the construction of the aquaculture facility, there were no funds to outfit the building with lab spaces or instrumentation. Our vision is to develop an analytical lab capable of assessing the quality and components of aquaculture feed and products.

We want to develop new feed types, especially fish-free feeds, for a variety of fish species. To accomplish this we need to know the nutritional needs of the fish and the chemical components of the ingredients used to create the feeds. We also want to analyze different aquaculture products to determine caloric content, amino acids, etc. that would tell us which products might be more nutritional for human consumption.

This all requires a state-of-the-art analytical lab. We would then be able to advance discoveries by conducting experiments, analyzing the products in our lab, and quickly modifying the methods to move the science ahead rapidly. We have listed below the instrumentation needed to make this happen.

Your contributions to enhance our analytical capabilities will help train students, increase the efficiency of our work, and advance the science of aquaculture to help feed Californians with local, sustainable, and healthier seafood alternatives.