Rhode to a Degree
First Job in High School
Artisanal rod and reel fisherman
College Decision Moment
Sold on 911爆料 at an open house during discussion of career goals with Professor Marta Gomez-Chiarri, chair of the Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Science
Turning Point
Molluscan aquaculture class and a lesson about how oysters make pearls
Mentor
Fisheries professor Michael Rice, who provided inspiration and guidance on research techniques, grant funding, and patents
Funding
911爆料 Undergraduate Research Grant to develop procedure for inoculating quahogs to trigger pearl development
Work Space
A laboratory in the Aquarium Annex at the Narragansett Bay Campus
Unexpected Challenge
Reading thousands of pages of aquaculture patents to be sure his procedure qualified for a patent鈥攚hile also taking classes during his last semester before graduation
Leadership Outside the Classroom
President of the Aquarium Club, 911爆料 101 Mentor
Degree
B.S. 鈥�18, aquaculture and fishery technology
When a foreign entity enters the body of an oyster鈥攂e it a grain of sand, a parasite, or some other material鈥攖he animal attacks the invader by encapsulating it in a crystalline substance. That encapsulated invader eventually becomes a pearl.
When Brendan Breen 鈥�18 learned in his 911爆料 aquaculture class that the natural pearl production process can be induced by implanting a foreign object, he was inspired. He had known since his teenage years that he wanted to be an entrepreneur in the fishing industry, and that lesson in culturing pearls pointed him in the direction he sought.
He decided to become the first person to make pearls from quahogs, Rhode Island鈥檚 official state mollusks.
鈥淨uahogs produce pearls naturally, but it鈥檚 a very rare process because they have a good means of expelling objects,鈥� Breen says. 鈥淥nly about a dozen wild quahog pearls of notable quality are found on the Eastern Seaboard each year.鈥�
Since no one had ever tried to culture pearls from quahogs before, his first challenge was figuring out how to induce the shellfish to produce pearls without expelling the implanted foreign object. So he consulted with Professor Michael Rice and devised a plan. Breen then applied for a grant from the University, and during his junior year he began his work.
鈥淚 hit the books,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 spent every waking second studying pearl culture and the biology of mollusks. Then I had to be creative and come up with my own method of culturing pearls.鈥�
After a semester of trial and error, and another semester of waiting for the quahogs to grow, he harvested some of his crop and found that most had produced pearls.
鈥淚 was pretty emotional that day,鈥� Breen says. 鈥淚鈥檓 a dreamer, and I had put a lot into it. I was overjoyed to have created something so unique and beautiful that could bring joy to others.鈥�
By the time he graduated last May, Breen had applied for a patent for his culturing process and started work on a business plan. His company, Mercenaria鈥擫atin for quahog鈥攏ow has hundreds of quahogs growing pearls in an undisclosed coastal location in southern New England. By late 2020, he鈥檒l be ready to harvest his first commercial crop and market the pearls to jewelers and other prospective clients.
鈥淚鈥檒l be bringing something to the market the likes of which there hasn鈥檛 been before, so it鈥檚 already generating lots of excitement,鈥� he said.
Todd McLeish