美國洛氏基金會預測隨著全球人口不斷的增加，糧食不足的問題將越加嚴重，因而長期關注糧食生產問題，且自1964年起對水產養殖經驗豐富的地區，如夏威夷、菲律賓等，提供資金協助。臺灣因為在水產養殖方面曾有成功經驗，使得洛氏基金會願意提供補助款，以協助其發展。總計自1966年7月1日至1973年6月30日，7年內洛氏基金會共補助475,000美元，協助臺灣發展水產養殖研究，並指定農復會為該補助款的管理者。農復會在管理該基金時，係站在經費管控與輔導的立場，於計畫執行期間，管控經費、物資、施工品質與人力分配，輔導水試所完成各項計畫，並定期舉辦研討會等學術交流活動，以增進工作效率。臺灣將該補助款運用於兩方面：一為人事費，聘僱研究員、顧問以及水試所職員的津貼；另一為實驗室、試驗設備與圖書器材費用。其中人事費約占45%，主要用來培訓與募集人才，以及聘請外籍專家來臺協助發展。聘請國外專家來臺，無論提供意見或經驗交流，對於臺灣的工作者而言，均為良好的學習與觀摩機會；而以優渥的薪水延攬人才回臺服務，以及聘請多位研究員與助理研究員，透過有計畫地進行試驗研究，使其在工作中培養實力，對臺灣水產養殖的發展，均具有長遠的影響。若以試驗的項目來區分，則養蝦的研究試驗為最主要的補助項目。1968年洛氏基金會投入大筆經費，協助建造東港養蝦中心，1971年改制為水試所東港分所，成為國際知名的水產研究機構之一，提供東南亞和非洲國家農業人才的訓練課程，不但使其補助款發揮最大效用，並將效用延長與擴大及於其他國家。總之，洛氏基金會的補助，提供臺灣水產養殖業一個發展的機會，而臺灣亦善用此一契機，努力發展該項產業。

In accordance with its view that the problem of food supply will worsen because of the continual increase in world population, the Foundation has paid much attention to the issue of food production for a long time, and since 1964 it had started to aid the countries or states that have experienced in the cultivation of aquatic products, for example Hawaii, the Philippines, and so on. As Taiwan also has had very successful experience in the matter, the Foundation believed that it had the capability to carry out relevant projects and thus was willing to provide the nation with financial aids to promote further developments there. From July 1st 1966 to June 30th 1973, a total of US$475,000 was given to help Taiwan to develop aqua-culture. The Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction was appointed as the managing institute.In managing the funds, the Joint Commission was in charge of controlling the expenses and supplies, in monitoring the quality of the execution of the projects and the distribution of human powers. It also helped Fisheries Research Institute to accomplish all sorts of projects, to sponsor conferences, and to perform other academic exchange programs so as to promote efficiency.More than half of the grant was spent on books, equipments, other instruments, and 45 percent was used on personnel expenses, including payloads to researchers, advisors, and subsidies to staff members. Often it was mandatory to recruit professionals from abroad or foreign experts to help the cultivating and the training of staff members. By providing personal experiences and opinions, foreign experts often helped the staff to observe and learn much better. Good salaries often attracted talented researchers and assistant researchers to come back and work in the home country. With long-term research and experiment, these people eventually raised their capabilities and expertise in aqua-culture industry. The impact has been far-reaching.Among the many projects subsidized, the one on the cultivation of shrimps received the most of the aids. In 1968 the Foundation spent a huge amount of money on the construction of the Tungkang Shrimp Culture Center. In 1971 the center became Tungkang Marine Laboratory, now one of world's renowned aquatic products research institutes. This institute has given training programs for many people from South-east Asia, mostly farmers and fishermen interested in the cultivation of fisheries. In this way, the Foundation has made the best use of its aids.To sum up, with the financial aids from the Rockefeller Foundation, Taiwan has been able to develop the industry of aqua-culture successfully.