Most Connecticut shellfish farms rely on natural oyster beds for seed which are transplanted to leased beds for grow-out. Natural seed availability, however, can be unpredictable year to year. Connecticut Sea Grant research on remote setting techniques for oysters was applied by a Connecticut shellfish company as a means for stabilizing the amount of new oyster seed available for planting annually.

A Connecticut Sea Grant funded pilot study in 2015 led to the installation of a commercial scale hatchery and remote setting facility for in-house oyster seed production in 2016. Based on the pilot results, oyster growers installed a commercial scale hatchery for larvae production and additional tanks. The company has high hopes for the tanks to be a consistent and reliable source of seed to use on their beds.

NOAA National Weather Service (NWS) storm briefing products are a critical source of information used by local officials, emergency managers and residents to assess risk and determine which actions to take to prevent loss of life and property. As part of the Coastal Storm Awareness Program, the New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut Sea Grant Programs supported research that evaluated NWS storm briefing materials and their use by local officials, residents and emergency managers.

In 2016, the director of the NWS Eastern Region requested that his staff develop a new standardized storm briefing template for use by all Weather Forecasting Offices in his region. The purposes of the standardized template were to 1) reduce confusion in communities served by more than one Weather Forecasting Office; 2) incorporate probabilistic forecasting; and 3) incorporate all of the design recommendations from the Sea Grant social science research project. The new template, first used in December 2016 by the Grey, Maine Weather Forecasting Office, has received positive feedback by agency and community officials.

Connecticut Sea Grant training prompted the installation of two new raingardens in 2016, adding to the total area of 15,150 square feet of raingardens across the state. In an average year, these raingardens collectively treat about 310,460 gallons of stormwater.

Connecticut Sea Grant educates landscape professionals, municipal officials, homeowners, and students about the effectiveness of rain gardens as a way to limit the harmful effects of stormwater runoff. When it rains, runoff from rainwater carries pollutants into nearby streams, rivers, lakes, or ocean. Rain gardens collect water from rooftops, yards or driveways which can minimize the amount of pollution that would otherwise enter nearby bodies of water. Rain gardens can also reduce street flooding which can cause damage to nearby properties or limit access to local businesses.