John Jaeger, North Babylon Environmental Researcher, has played an instrumental role in the development, upkeep and research of the Shellfish Hatchery in Mount Sinai Harbor.
Mariculture Facility and Shellfish Hatchery
John Jaeger made significant research contributions to the Mariculture Facility and Shellfish Hatchery in Mount Sinai Harbor. As a Mentor, John Jaeger’s research team was actively engaged in research into aquaculture techniques. The Shellfish Hatchery originally grew approximately 1.5 million oysters and over a million clams each calendar year, prior to expansion. Thanks to the research efforts of Jaeger and team, the Shellfish Hatchery at Mount Sinai Harbor was awarded grants that enabled massive expansion of the Mariculture Facility.
The awarded grants funded research projects that included:
- New and Expanded Water Intake Systems
- Algal Culture systems
- Larval Culture Systems
- Broodstock Conditioning
- Spawning and Holding Systems
- Setting Tanks and Systems
- Nursery (Juvenile Seed) Culture Equipment and Systems
- Field Grow-Out Systems for Juvenile (Seed) Shellfish
In total, the expansion of the Mariculture Facility and Shellfish Hatchery at Mount Sinai Harbor led to an increase in yield from 1.5 million oysters to 3 million oysters (spat-on-shell) and from a million clams to 12 million hard clam seeds. The overall intention of the research projects and STEM outreach initiative has been to enhance natural recruitment and significantly improve the harvest of shellfish for both commercial baymen and residents of surrounding areas throughout LI.