The University of Washington is committed to making student access at Big Beef Creek a priority. Over the long term, we envision that the farm will be led by a full-time manager (salaried), as well as by a core group of graduate students in coordination with faculty and industry partners. Because several SAFS and SMEA faculty have ongoing interests in shellfish aquaculture, there will undoubtedly be a constant flow of new graduate students with expertise in this area. Consequently, we expect consistent interest and renewed involvement of student leadership with each passing academic year. As the Farm grows, so too does the opportunity to experiment with new methods of shellfish cultivation, and to monitor the impacts of the farm on the estuary. Phase I will yield a concrete management plan for the Farm and a determination of whether and how the Farm can be self-sustaining over the long-term. The feasibility study will model potential income from sales against various methods and scales of shellfish cultivation. In addition to generating revenue through shellfish sales (i.e. 250,000 oysters x $0.35 = $87,500 per acre/year), we will seek additional funding from aquaculture and research granting institutions, including Washington Sea Grant, which has expressed initial interest in supporting the project. We are additionally exploring several models for formal partnership with industry. Taylor Shellfish Inc., the largest producer of farmed shellfish in North America, has graciously agreed to serve as a technical advisor on the project. From preliminary discussions, Taylor Inc. may be able to provide an in-kind donation of “seed” oysters and clams for the project, as well as assist in the sale and distribution of UW Shellfish in exchange for a share of revenues.
Year:
Amount Awarded:
$27,400
Potential Funding Reductions:
Our proposed budget for Phase I is calculated based the following, in order of priority:
1) The estimated time required for a single graduate student to thoroughly conduct a feasibility study that addresses all our objectives, with funds amount determined according to SMEA rate for RA-ship.
2) The estimated cost of securing legal counsel to assess the technical details of the University’s real estate holding at Big Beef Creek and determine the steps necessary to re-zone a parcel for commercial aquaculture.
3) Estimated additional expenses to be incurred in carrying out the feasibility study – i.e. travel costs, report preparation.
We strongly believe that the level of funding requested is already a conservative estimate of the resources needed to thoroughly carry out Phase I. Thus, any further reductions to the amount requested may jeopardize the success of the project. Having discussed at length the complexity of the study’s objectives (see “Student Involvement”), we believe three academic quarters to be a conservative estimate for required time.
A reduction of 5% ($1,145) or higher would be result in a shorter time frame for the SMEA graduate student conducting the feasibility study. We would likely compress the work timeline to two academic quarters, which would drastically increase the required workload of the student participant.
In our initial proposal, the CSF noted that the $5,000 requested for legal counsel seemed an arbitrary amount. After consulting with several attorneys about our needs, we have confirmed that $5,000 is a "best estimate" for our expenses. Please note that we are more than willing to repay the CSF with any unused legal funds, if desired. On a similar token, the College of the Environment has agreed to supplement the project with additional financial support if funds are insufficient to fully cover legal expenses.
Project Longevity:
Project status:
Completed