Skip to main content

Acuff Center for Aquaculture

Aerial view of the Acuff Center
Acuff Center An aerial view of the building exterior.
Larval tanks on the main floor of the Acuff Center
Acuff Center Main Floor Larval tanks for culturing shellfish.
The broodstock room where animals are held and conditioned for spawning
Broodstock Room Tanks where adult animals are held and conditioned for spawning.
Haley Uliasz working the algae hanging bag system
Algae Room Haley Uliasz working the algae hanging bag system for continuous algae production. Photo credit: Quinn Evans
Algae carboy and flask rack in the Acuff Center algae room
Algae Room The carboy and flask rack for algae culture. Photo credit: Quinn Evans
Seawater Filtration Room
Seawater Filtration Room Where seawater enters the building from the York River and undergoes various levels of filtration. Photo credit: Quinn Evans
Seawater storage tanks
Seawater Storage Tanks 8000-gallon storage tanks for holding the filtered seawater used for shellfish culture. Photo credit: Quinn Evans
Acuff Center
Acuff Center The exterior of the building at sunset. Photo credit: Quinn Evans

The Acuff Center for Aquaculture is a 20,000-square-foot shellfish hatchery that supports collaborative research, education, and advisory teams within the Batten School & VIMS’ Shellfish Aquaculture Program. The building features an expansive, open floor plan allowing flexibility to meet the changing research and husbandry needs of various users, with the capacity to maintain hundreds of larval shellfish cultures from spawning through setting. State-of-the-art seawater filtration and climate-control systems maintain optimal conditions for ripening broodstock, culturing shellfish larvae, and growing microalgae. The building also contains specialized algae and broodstock rooms.

The Acuff Center will serve as a resource for not only researchers and educators (including the Aquaculture Genetics and Breeding Technology Center (ABC) and a variety of other Batten School & VIMS investigators) but also for collaborators and partnering organizations in the shellfish aquaculture industry.

The facility honors the exceptional leadership and generosity of A. Marshall Acuff, Jr. ’62, L.H.D. ’07, P ’93 on behalf of the Batten School & VIMS and is named for the Acuff family.

Plan a visit: The Acuff Center at VIMS’ Gloucester Point campus will be open for public tours beginning in June. Please contact [[v|programs]] or the VIMS Public Tours page for more information.