Shellfish Research and Development

Shellfish have been an important part of New Jersey's economy since before the colonial era, and Rutgers has had a long-term interest in ensuring the vitality of this resource.

Rutgers' Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory began in 1888 as an outpost of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station (NJAES) devoted to studying oysters and improving their harvest. Julius Nelson, the first director of what was then called the Oyster Investigation Laboratory, believed that oystermen and farmers had a lot in common: both planted "seed," which they cultivated on surveyed grounds and eventually harvested.

Named for Harold Haskin, the director from 1950 to 1984, the laboratory is affiliated with two Cook College institutions, the NJAES and the Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences. The laboratory serves the shellfish industry with timely research about the state of oyster, surf clam and quahog fisheries. It also performs agricultural and educational missions by training graduate students and scientists.

Five full-time faculty and 12 research staff work at the laboratory in the old oystering village of Bivalve, in Cumberland County. Their investigations into oyster genetics, parasite life cycles, the effects of climate change on shellfisheries, and aquaculture, have led to collaborations with other marine institutions around the world.

The laboratory, now led by Eric Powell, maintains the Cape Shore Hatchery in Middle Township, Cape May County, for the growing of seed oysters, and operates the Fisheries Information and Development Center in Cape May. The Haskins Laboratory is currently expanding its operation with the construction of the Multispecies Aquaculture Demonstration Facility, also in Cape May.

Among its ongoing contributions to the understanding of shellfish and the improvement of shellfisheries, the laboratory is known for its work in devastating oyster diseases, such as MSX and dermo. The laboratory has used this knowledge and its genetics expertise to develop disease-resistant oysters, one variety of which is trademarked as the Haskin Crossbreed.