Rutgers Cape Shore Laboratory is located on the shore of Delaware Bay approximately ten miles from Cape May, NJ. Laboratory facilities at the site include 3000 sq. ft. of quarantine hatchery space and 3200 sq. ft. of office/dry lab space.





Culture systems include a 22,000 gallon land based nursery and a 50,000 gallon quarantine holding system for non-native oyster species. The recent addition of a 6,000 gallon reservoir for holding high salinity water has further expanded culturing capabilities to include high salinity species.

The site also includes 5 acres of intertidal flats located in front of the laboratory which is used for field grow out of oysters and clams.








A 5 bedroom, 2 bath, 10 bed on site dormitory was completed in January 1998, and provides housing for laboratory technicians, students, and visiting researchers.

   Current research projects at the facility include; pilot scale production and field grow out of the Surf Clam (Spisula solidissima) and evaluation of this species for aquaculture in southern New Jersey; continuation of our selective breeding program to produce MSX and Dermo resistant Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica); hybridization of our disease resistant lines with a northeastern JOD (Juvenile Oyster Disease) resistant line; production of triploid and tetraploid C. virginicaand C. ariakensis;and Delaware Bay population studies involving the Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus).