GOMESA Application Details

Internal Project Number: 281423
1. Title of Project: Mobile Recirculating Wet Storage System for Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture
2. Location of Project: Thad Cochran Marine Aquaculture Center, University of Southern Mississippi, Gulf Coast Research Laboratory, Cedar Point Campus. Jackson County, Mississippi
3. Requesting Organization: University of Southern Mississippi
4a. Name: Erica Kennedy
4b. Position
4c. Phone Number: 601-266-4119
4d. Fax Number
4e. Address Line 1: 118 College Drive #5157
4e. Address Line 2
4e. City, State Zip: Hattiesburg, MS 39406
4f. Email: ora-pam@usm.edu
5. FundingRequested: $907,673
Awarded Amount:
6. Other State or Federal Funding Sources: No
7a. Amount of Additional Funds
7b. Source of Additional Funds
8. Total Project Funds Amount: $907,673
9. Project Description/Overview: TCMAC proposes to construct a mobile, temperature-controlled, recirculating oyster wet storage system housed in a semi-trailer, enabling routine commercial use and rapid relocation to TCMAC's Cedar Point facility ahead of hurricanes, avoiding the water-quality restart ISSC/NSSP would otherwise require of a fixed system after a shutdown or a water exchange greater than 10%. Subcontractor: TCMAC will subcontract with Deer Island Oyster Alliance, LLC, formed by Two Crackers (Mark Havard), Holy Ground Oyster Co. (Thomas Piecuch), and Eagle Point Oyster Co. (Matthew Mayfield). The subcontract covers the members' time, effort, commodities, equipment, and one conference trip per member. Once ISSC and MDMR approve the system, the LLC's members will be its first commercial users, giving them practical means to expand their harvesting potential: harvesting market-ready oysters ahead of anticipated closures and low-salinity events rather than losing them, adjusting post-harvest salinity to match market specifications, and holding product on shore under monitored conditions until sale or distributor pickup, decoupling harvest timing from sale timing. MDMR supports this project (letter of support included) through close collaboration on ISSC sampling, system design, and permitting. Rather than as a subaward here, MDMR is submitting its own companion proposal, "Establishing Sampling, Processing, and Regulatory Protocols for Recirculating Wet Storage," under which it will receive and process this system's water samples, develop the required protocols in its capacity as the state "Authority" under ISSC, and establish the permitting process for wet storage setup, approval, and harvesting. TCMAC is separately submitting a companion cooperative proposal, "Establishing Mississippi's Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture Cooperative with a Shared Mobile Processing and Grading Hub," for the same LLC. All three applications are standalone and not contingent on one another, but if both this proposal and the cooperative proposal are funded, TCMAC intends to co-locate the wet storage system with the processing hub at the same site. The operational site will be in Jackson County, Mississippi, selected for proximity to boat ramps and docks used by OBOA harvesters and centrally located to the Deer Island Oyster Aquaculture Park (DIOAP). Final site selection will include input from Deer Island Oyster Alliance, LLC.
10. Project Goals/Objectives: 1. Construct a mobile, trailer-mounted, recirculating wet storage system using artificial or filtered seawater sized and engineered for both routine dockside operation and storm relocation. 2. Achieve regulatory approval of the system under ISSC/NSSP standards (NSSP Model Ordinance, Chapter VII, Section .04, Wet Storage in Artificial Bodies of Water) and secure the corresponding MDMR permitting/regulatory framework needed to allow oyster harvest from a wet storage facility. Coordination with MDMR's companion GOMESA proposal will ensure development of the required sampling protocols and permitting process. 3. Expand harvesting flexibility and market access for participating farmers by enabling harvest ahead of low-salinity periods and closures, post-harvest salinity adjustment, and land-based holding of harvested product until sale or distributor pickup, decoupling harvest timing from sale timing. 4. Establish and validate a mobile storm-response protocol for moving the unit from its shore-based operational site to TCMAC's Cedar Point facility ahead of storm events using TCMAC staff and the subcontractor to maintain system operation to minimize or eliminate required water-quality restarts. 5. Transfer operational capability to the subcontract partner, Deer Island Oyster Alliance in Years 1–2 Expand to broader industry access in Years 2–3 through a cost-center use model. 6. Reduce economic losses to OBOA farmers associated with harvest closures, storm disruption, low-salinity events, and forced restart of wet storage water-quality testing.
11. Which of the following authorized uses set forth in the GOMESA Act does this project fall under?

(A) Projects and activities for the purpose of coastal protection, including conservation, coastal restoration, hurricane protection, and infrastructure directly affected by coastal wetlands losses: Yes: This project provides hurricane-resilient infrastructure protecting a natural-resource-dependent industry. The mobile trailer design exists specifically so oyster wet storage capacity is not lost or destroyed during hurricanes, and so that industry recovery after a storm is faster, with minimal disruption to ongoing harvest and sale operations.

(B) Mitigation of damage to fish, wildlife, or natural resources.: Yes: This project directly mitigates economic and resource-management damage associated with storm events, closures, and low-salinity episodes that affect the Mississippi oyster resource and the off-bottom aquaculture industry built around it. By allowing already-harvested oysters to be held safely, and by allowing the sanitation-approval status of the wet storage system to survive a storm event without a full restart, the project reduces stock loss, reduces the frequency of disruptive shutdown/restart cycles, and supports continued rebuilding of Mississippi's oyster industry following historical collapse from storms, disease, and freshwater diversions.

(C) Implementation of a federally-approved marine, coastal, or conservation management plan.

(D) Mitigation of the impact of Outer Continental Shelf activities through funding of onshore infrastructure projects.

12. Project Timetable/Milestones: Year 1 • Finalize site selection among candidate Jackson County waterfront properties and execute a site-use agreement. • If the companion proposal "Establishing Mississippi's Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture Cooperative with a Shared Mobile Processing and Grading Hub," is also funded: co-locate the wet storage trailer with the processing hub at the same site and integrate shared storm-relocation procedures. • Execute subcontracts with Deer Island Oyster Alliance, LLC. • Procure semi-trailer chassis and system components (filtration, pumps, UV sterilization, temperature control). • Fabricate and install the recirculating wet storage system within the trailer. • Coordinate with MDMR's companion proposal ("Establishing Sampling, Processing, and Regulatory Protocols for Recirculating Wet Storage") as it develops the sampling protocol and permitting framework this system will operate under. Year 2 • Complete ISSC/MDMR approval of the system, informed by the sampling protocol and permitting framework developed under MDMR's companion proposal. • Begin operational use by the three subcontracted partner LLC. • Submit water samples to MDMR for processing on the schedule established under MDMR's companion proposal, including routine sampling and contingency sampling after any water exchange greater than 10% or storm-related shutdown/restart. • Conduct at least one storm-relocation exercise/drill to TCMAC's Cedar Point facility, refining staffing and handoff protocols. • Subcontractors each attend one industry conference during the performance period. • Begin cost-center billing structure ($0.02–$0.03 per oyster). Year 3 • Open system access to additional Mississippi OBOA industry farmers beyond the three initial farmers. • Continue submitting water samples to MDMR for processing on the established schedule. • Evaluate and report on storm-response performance (number of relocation events, water-quality continuity outcomes, reduction in restart-driven downtime). • Assess expansion/replication potential for additional units.
13. Project Timing: Short-term
14. Current status of architectural/engineering plans & specifications for this project (if applicable):: Other N/A Funds Not Budgeted

15. In what way does this project meet the goals and objectives of the Department of Marine Resources, which includes enhancing, protecting and conserving the marine interest of Mississippi for present and future generations?: TCMAC's mobile wet storage project directly supports MDMR's mission to enhance, protect, and conserve the marine interests of Mississippi for present and future generations by: • Protecting the state's oyster resource base against storm-driven losses by giving farmers a mechanism to safeguard harvested product when a hurricane threatens rather than potentially absorbing a total loss; • Supporting continued growth of the off-bottom aquaculture industry, which MDMR has prioritized as a path to diversify and rebuild oyster production capacity following historic reef declines; • Expanding harvesting flexibility and market access for Mississippi farmers by allowing harvest ahead of closures and low-salinity events, salinity adjustment for market demands, and land-based holding that decouples harvest timing from buyer pickup schedules; • Strengthening resilience of marine-resource-dependent infrastructure, which is consistent with MDMR's interest in coastal industries that can withstand and recover quickly from hurricanes; • Complementing MDMR's own companion GOMESA proposal, “Establishing Sampling, Processing, and Regulatory Protocols for Recirculating Wet Storage,” under which MDMR will process this system's water samples, develop sampling protocols in its capacity as the state “Authority” under ISSC, and establish the wet storage permitting process, together giving the state's oyster industry both the physical infrastructure and the regulatory pathway needed to bring wet storage into commercial use; • Complementing TCMAC’s companion cooperative/ processing hub proposal, "Establishing Mississippi's Off-Bottom Oyster Aquaculture Cooperative with a Shared Mobile Processing and Grading Hub," which builds the shared grading, processing, and cold-storage infrastructure this wet storage system’s users will rely on alongside it. • Building regulatory and technical capacity (ISSC-approved wet storage protocols) that MDMR can extend to the broader industry once validated by this project and expanding future market access and stability for Mississippi oyster farmers statewide.

16. Estimated Years To Completion: 3
17. Estimated Completion Date: 6/30/2030

Budget:

Salaries,Wages, Fringe: $252,420
Travel: $8,750
Architecture & Engineering
Legal
Consulting
Construction
Site Work
Equipment
Indirects: $150,736
Other: $495,767
Total: $907,673


Application Submission Date: 08/26/2026
Fiscal Year: 2028
Project Status
Application Status: Submitted
Meets Criteria
Internal Notes:
Attachments:: https://gomesa.dmr.ms.gov/attachments/GOMESA_1423_Attachment.pdf
Hyperlink:: Attachments

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