On May 13, 2021, a free webinar was held to profile Clemson’s recent research on shellfish mariculture consumer preferences and economic impacts in South Carolina. Dr. Marzieh Motallebi organized the webinar with Clemson’s Belle W. Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science and Steve Richards with Clemson Extension Agribusiness Team’s Center for Cooperative and Enterprise Development.
The webinar included shellfish consumer preference research by Clemson graduate student Sam Cheplick, oyster consumer preference research by Steve Richards, and a shellfish mariculture economic impact study by Dr. Rob Carey, Director of Clemson’s Regional Economic Analysis Laboratory. In addition, a shellfish producer needs and research assessment was presented by Dr. Motallebi and South Carolina Sea Grant’s Living Marine Resource Specialist Graham Gaines. As a special guest, Gary Spires, with South Carolina Farm Bureau, talked about the importance of shellfish growers and how SC Farm Bureau would welcome their membership and involvement.
Seventy-eight attendees registered for this webinar, representing coastal shellfish growers and researchers from Maine to Alabama, the US Department of Agriculture, the South Carolina Farm Bureau Federation, and the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. Of the seventy-eight registered, fifty-two attended the webinar with the balance of participants downloading the recording, which can be found at https://clemson.box.com/s/eool0runedlzf2ncu5i0pg8z7x88d48q.
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Submitted by: Steven Richards, Director, SC Center for Cooperative and Enterprise Development
