Great Bay Aquaculture, LLC (GBA) and UNH researchers made a major breakthrough in cod production in 2003, with winter and spring spawns at the hatchery yielding several hundred thousand fingerlings. With support from CINEMAR’s Open Ocean Aquaculture Project, Great Bay implemented new husbandry strategies and installed state of the art water treatment systems that afforded them significantly greater control over rearing conditions. The experience GBA and UNH gained in cod culture over the past two years, coupled with the new systems and methods helped them overcome the water quality, health and cannibalism problems cod producers have encountered worldwide.

Approximately 30,000 fish from the first spawn, which now weigh about 30 grams, are being held in nursery cages at UNH’s Coastal Marine Lab, awaiting transfer to the new 3000 cubic meter Sea Station cage that will be installed in August 2003. GBA has shipped approximately 150,000 fish from the first production run to growers in Canada who are anxious to try a new species. A second spawn in the spring produced over 300,000 fish that are still housed at Great Bay’s hatchery facility in Portsmouth, NH.