Open to all: RWU offers shellfish farming course

BRISTOL, RI, The Bristol Phoenix - East Bay Newspapers — If you’ve been thinking about starting up a small shellfish farm, the Roger Williams University Center for Economic and Environmental Development is teaching a new 12-week course this winter.

The course will teach the basics of shellfish farming in the waters of Rhode Island and nearby Southern New England, including principles of hatchery, nursery and grow-out operations, risk management, siting, permitting and business management.

The university is enrolling students now to the non-credit course, “Practical Shellfish Farming.” Dale Leavitt, Ph.D., associate professor and aquaculture extension specialist, will teach the course at the Bristol campus.

Twelve classes are from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. on Wednesdays, Jan. 11 to April 18, weather permitting. The fee for the course and all handout materials is $120. Students may attend classes on a drop-in basis at a rate of $10 per session.

To register for the course, contact Cheryl Francis at 254-3110 or cfrancis@rwu.edu or Dale Leavitt at dleavitt@rwu.edu.