Centre of Excellence in Guam

University of Guam

The University of Guam conducts aquacultural research and extension work through the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.


The Guam Aquaculture Development and Training Center (GADTC)

Guam_GADTCThe Guam Aquaculture Development and Training Center (GADTC) was originally built about 1980 as a private facility designed to produce fish and eel fry for the Asian market. The GADTC is now housed within the Agricultural Experiment Station of the College of Natural and Applied Sciences.

The goals of the GADTC are:

- to produce fish fry and shrimp postlarvae on-island to support a growing and promising aquaculture industry, reducing the reliance on imported stocks of animals

-  to be the center for public information on the aquaculture industry, its products and its potential
- to serve the needs of the farmers regarding technology transfer and extension service
- to conduct research on aquaculture in support of the industry.

The hatchery is a bio-secure facility on a five acre site, fully fenced on three sides and bordered by a rugged coast on the fourth side. It is only 15 minutes away from the airport by car. Facilities include an indoor hatchery with larval and artemia hatching tanks, a phytoplankton laboratory, a feed preparation room and a tool/work room. The facility also has both fresh and salt water supplies, an automatic generator back-up system, a separate office building, a duplex of two-bedroom living quarters and a refrigerated feed storage container.

There are 14 concrete ponds on the site, including six 200 sq. meter Swedish ponds and four 200 sq. meter raceways. Numerous fiberglass tanks fill the area ranging in size from 0.5 to 20 metric tons.

Current products of the hatchery include high health (Specific Pathogen Free) shrimp post-larvae and broodstock, improved strains of tilapia fry and Claris catfish fry.