New Research on Oyster Aquaculture

Shared on behalf of the East Coast Shellfish Grower’s Association

New research on oyster aquaculture through WHOI Sea Grant, Cape Cod Cooperative Extension and the SE Massachusetts Aquaculture Center.

1) A Comparison of Bottom and Floating Gear for Growing American Oysters (Crassostrea virginica) in Southeastern Massachusetts. Extension studies reveal that oysters grown in floating gear had better growth, survival and condition index compared with bottom cages.

2) Vp in oysters

Diane Murphy did a study where she compared Vibrio levels in oysters that were immediately iced upon harvest vs. those that exposed to ambient temps for 5 hours. Predictably iced oysters had lower counts, but the real take home message for me here was that Vibrio numbers reverted to baseline after 18 hours of resubmergence. So oysters that were exposed for 5 hours and returned to the waters overnight were back to normal by the following morning. This is another study that should help put to rest some of the concerns raised by regulators about shoreside culling and resubmergence.

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Marine Extension Bulletin Available – Shellfish, Nitrogen and the Health of Our Coastal Waters

This marine extension bulletin serves to summarize the often confusing potential for shellfish to be used as part of a plan to mitigate the effects of excess nutrients in coastal waters. The Cape Cod area in particular is grappling with the potentially enormous costs of reducing the nutrient load to coastal waters and all options are up for discussion. Shellfish are natural inhabitants of coastal waters and through their normal feeding activity are involved in cycling and incorporating nutrients through their food. This bulletin discusses the potential, and also the challenges to using shellfish production as part of a nutrient reduction plan.

Click here for more information.