** AWARDS ISSUED PRIOR TO JANUARY 20, 2025, WERE FUNDED UNDER PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS AND MAY NOT REFLECT THE PRIORITIES AND POLICIES OF THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION.** JELLYFISH ARE A UNIQUE MARINE SPECIES THAT CAN HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT ON THE ECOSYSTEM IF REMOVED FROM THE WORLD'S OCEANS. HOWEVER, GLOBAL CHANGES SUCH AS EUTROPHICATION AND GLOBAL WARMING DRIVEN BY INCREASED NUMBER OF HUMAN ACTIVITIES ARE EXPECTED TO INCREASE THE GLOBAL BIOMASS AND CATCH POTENTIAL OF JELLYFISH IN THE FUTURE. AS A RESULT, THE APPEARANCE OF JELLYFISH BLOOMS (OUTBREAKS OF JELLYFISH) WILL BE MORE FREQUENT ACROSS THE GLOBE. THESE BLOOMS CAN NEGATIVELY IMPACT LOCAL ECONOMIES BY INTERFERING WITH TOURIST ACTIVITIES, COASTAL MARICULTURE OPERATIONS, CONSUMING EGGS AND LARVAE OF COMMERCIALLY IMPORTANT AQUATIC SPECIES, DECREASING FISHING EFFICIENCIES, AND CLOGGING POWER PLANTS' INTAKES. DUE TO THEIR INCREASING ABUNDANCE AND NUTRITIONAL CONTENT, IT HAS BEEN SUGGESTED THAT JELLYFISH WILL BE A FOOD OF THE FUTURE. JELLYFISH HAS BEEN CONSUMED FOR CENTURIES IN SOME ASIAN COUNTRIES IN A SALTED, DRIED FORM. IN THE US, CANNONBALL JELLYFISH (CBJ), AN EMERGING FISHERY, IS ONLY COMMERCIALIZED AS SALTED, DRIED JELLYFISH (SDJ) AND IS PRIMARILY EXPORTED TO ASIAN MARKETS, PREDOMINANTLY CHINA. CULTURAL BARRIERS, ATTITUDES, AND PERCEPTION OF AMERICAN CONSUMERS TOWARDS CONSUMING JELLYFISH HAVE HINDERED THE GROWTH OF THE DOMESTIC MARKET FOR SDJ. TRADE WARS WITH CHINA HAVE ALSO SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACTED THE GROWTH AND THE LONG-TERM VIABILITY OF THE US JELLYFISH INDUSTRY. THEREFORE, THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON DIVERSIFYING THE PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS FROM THE US JELLYFISH INDUSTRY BY UTILIZING THE COLLAGEN WITHIN CBJ TO PRODUCE NOVEL COLLAGEN-BASED ALTERNATIVE PRODUCTS THAT DOMESTIC CONSUMERS WOULD BE OPT TO PURCHASE AND CONSUME.THE PRODUCTION OF FLAVORLESS JELLYFISH COLLAGEN-PEPTIDE POWDERS (JCPPS) FROM CBJ BEGINS WITH THE HYDROLYZATION OF THE STRUCTURAL PROTEIN COLLAGEN INTO SMALLER STRANDS OF PROTEINS CALLED PEPTIDES USING FOOD-GRADE ORGANIC ACIDS, ENZYMES, AND HEAT. THE RESULTANT PEPTIDES WILL BE FURTHER PROCESSED TO REMOVE MINERALS AND FISHY OFF-FLAVORS (OF) USING ADSORPTION TECHNOLOGY AND THEN SPRAY DRIED TO PRODUCE JCPPS. THE PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES INCLUDING COLOR, PARTICLE SIZE, VISCOSITY, MOISTURE, WATER ACTIVITY, MINERAL CONTENT, BULK DENSITY, AMINO ACID COMPOSITION AND PROTEIN CONTENT OF THE RESULTANT JCPPS WILL BE CHARACTERIZED TO UNDERSTAND THE POWDERS' PROPERTIES. FINALLY, THE JCPPS WILL BE EVALUATED IN SEVERAL FOOD APPLICATIONS SUCH AS BEVERAGES. THE MAIN GOAL OF THE PROJECT IS TO DETERMINE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF REMOVING OF FROM JCPPS VIA ADSORPTION. THE SUCCESSFUL REMOVAL OF OF FROM JCPPS WILL PRODUCE PRODUCTS THAT ARE MORE APPEALING TO DOMESTIC CONSUMERS OVER SDJ, WHICH WILL HELP THE STRUGGLING US JELLYFISH INDUSTRY TO DIVERSIFY ITS PORTFOLIO OF PRODUCTS.