Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Research Center

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Kevin Hopkins, Interim Director (hopkins@hawaii.edu)
Phone: (808) 933-3186
Fax: (808) 933-0704
pacrc.uhh.hawaii.edu

The Pacific Aquaculture and Coastal Resources Center provides the infrastructure to support world-class aquaculture, marine science, and conservation biology programs at the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Center activities also include interdisciplinary research and development in coastal areas throughout the world and, through the Hawaiʻi Cooperative Studies Unit, a wide variety of ecological and environmental projects.

The Center has two off-campus facilities: a 12-acre coastal site at Keaukaha, adjacent to the port of Hilo, and an inland site at Panaʻewa, six miles away. Keaukaha facilities include a water quality laboratory, a pearl oyster hatchery, a marine fish hatchery, and a demonstration farm for ornamental fish cultivation. Water supplies include brackish water, saltwater, and, after renovation of a 1200-ft deep well is complete, very cold seawater.

The primary purposes of the Panaʻewa site are health management and integrated agriculture-aquaculture farming systems. State-of-the-art quarantine facilities allow work on exotic species. In addition, contract quarantine services are offered to the local aquaculture industry. Freshwater pond systems and reuse of nutrient-enriched waters are demonstrated as methods to improve efficiency and profitability of local farms.

Students are actively involved in all aspects of Center operations. The Center coordinates several student internship programs (see Pacific Internship Programs for Exploring Science (PIPES)), and students are employed each year to operate Center facilities. The Center also maintains close relationships with aquaculture firms, many of whom employ UH Hilo graduates.