Selecting and Maintaining Appropriate Gear

To prevent loss when dealing with smaller seed, I always place a screen or some sort of safety net below where I’m grading to ensure they aren’t lost to accidental spillage. While mortality from disease and other causes can be a source of product loss, the most important way to physically control product loss is being mindful of spillage while handling and grading oysters. For example, if you were handling 4mm seed, you should place the seed on a 2mm mesh to ensure that the oysters won’t fall through.įor more information, you may want to reference this very good presentation from SeaGrant Maine on basic oyster production methods. It’s also the variable growers have the most control over.Ī good rule of thumb that I recommend when it comes to deciding on an appropriate mesh size is using a mesh that is half the size of the animals you are deploying. It goes without saying that retaining your animals is the most important factor when it comes to oyster farming. (Stay tuned for an article later this month by my colleague Sean Grizzell on floating cage options.) Minimizing Product Loss Typically, larger seed allows you to implement more grow out options aligned to the environment when oysters reach 6mm or more. These upwellers are essentially a larger version of our land-based tanks and can provide the opportunity for higher stocking densities and higher flow rates which can result in high growth rates of up to 1mm per week with proper maintenance.įrom there we deploy our product into Hexcyl baskets on our longline systems to continue their growth. At Hoopers, seed ranging from 2-4mm reside in our Floating Upweller System (FLUPSY). Once seed is well established and past the most stressful part of its lifecycle, you can start utilizing grow out gear that requires less time intensive management. It also provides the versatility to complete remote setting and upwell the seed, post set should you choose to set your own larvae. While there are endless size, pump, filtration, and housing configuration options, using a Downweller/Upweller tank for small seed allows farmers to keep a large amount of seed (2 million 1mm size seed/tank) in an accessible area. Typically, a land-based tank housing seed on an appropriately sized screen is employed. However, determining the right equipment – and how much is needed - depends on your range of seed size, your total number of oysters, and the environmental conditions to which they’re exposed.įor growers looking to start with larvae and smaller seed (1mm-2mm) set on microcultch, I recommend using equipment that provides a controlled environment and allows easy access to the growing seed as they require a good deal of attention and maintenance at this stage. The one rule I follow when deciding what to house my seed in is simple: Choose a mesh size that is large enough to allow for adequate flow (for food availability), but small enough to retain your product. Providing Optimal Growing Environment by SizeĪs an oyster grows, a variety of gear can be utilized to yield optimal results.

Selecting and maintaining the appropriate grow out gear.Providing the best environment for seed growth based on size.Simply put, successful oyster farming means managing your seed on three fronts: When it comes to choosing the best grow-out method and gear, today’s farmers have many options thanks to advancements in technology and equipment. – a thriving aquaculture company on Maryland’s Eastern Shore – I’ve seen firsthand the importance of merging scientific principles, best practices and common sense to determine the best grow out methods and gear for both fledgling and established farms.

Our Nursery Manager Natalie Clark outlines her tips for choosing the best oyster grow out equipment based on seed size and water conditions.Īs a marine biologist and nursery manager for the Hoopers Island Oyster Co.

Size of oyster spat