Two Regional Development Grants totaling nearly $141,000 have been approved by the North Carolina Biotechnology Center to merge the modern capabilities of biotechnology with two of the state's most historic but fragile natural resources:
- $74,000 to Blue Ridge Food Ventures, of Candler, to help establish a specialized production facility for use by medicinal herb companies and entrepreneurs in western North Carolina
- $66,842 to the University of North Carolina Wilmington to help set up a pilot-scale finfish hatchery to produce juvenile fish for the state's emerging commercial saltwater fish-farming industry, and to conduct an economic analysis of hatchery operations
A long-term goal for the Blue Ridge project is to create a recognized "brand" for North Carolina's top-quality herb products made under good manufacturing practices recognized by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, said Mary Lou Surgi, Blue Ridge executive director.
The UNCW project is headed by Wade Watanabe, Ph.D., research professor and coordinator of the university's Aquaculture Program and Chris Dumas, Ph.D., associate professor of economics.
They're developing biotechnology tools to farm cost-effective sources of juvenile saltwater fish species with high market demand.
Saltwater fish farming and herbal medicine production are emerging as important new growth sectors in North Carolina's agricultural future.