dale f. leavitt - applied shellfish farming · dale leavittt a primer on aquaculture or you want to...
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Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 1
Applied Shellfish Farming ~an overview~
Dale F. Leavitt
Tonight’s agenda
Introductions of people
Introduction to aquaculture
Overview of shellfish farming course
Complete registration materials and discuss $$
Tour Wet Lab/Shellfish Hatchery
Dale Leavitt
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 2
Dale’s Credentials PhD from University of Maine
Dissertation on techniques for lobster aquaculture
23+ years working in Woods Hole
2 years for the Boston University Marine Program
1 year for Tufts University Veterinary School
20+ years as research biologist at Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution
Professor in Marine Biology at RWU (2003)
50% release to conduct aquaculture research, education
and outreach
Aquaculture Extension Specialist?
B.S. Marine Biology M.E.S.M. Wetlands, Watersheds and Ecosystem Sciences Graduate Certificates in Community Planning and GIS & Remote Sensing Save The Bay Restoration Ecologist -Habitat -Policy/Advocacy -Education URI GSO CRC/RI Sea Grant Fisheries & Aquaculture Graduate Research Assistant RWU Shellfish Hatchery Manager & Adjunct Professor Licensed US Coast Guard Captain Certified SCUBA Instructor Certified CPR/AED/First Aid Instructor Certified Lifeguard Instructor
Rob Hudson
B.S. Marine Biology M.Sc. Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences Shellfish Restoration Specialist RIDEM/NOAA North Cape Restoration Program Fisheries Specialist RI DEM and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Oyster Farmer RWU Shellfish Field Technician & Adjunct Professor Licensed US Coast Guard Captain AAUS certified diver
Matt Griffin
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 3
Aquaculture Extension Specialist
Just what is an “Extension Specialist”?
Originated with development of land grant system for
support of agriculture.
Responsible for “technology transfer” from the research
community to commercial agricultural application.
Achieves goal via
Workshops & education
Demonstration projects
Applied research
A Primer on Shellfish
Aquaculture
or
You want to grow
What? Where?
Dale Leavitt, PhD
Aquaculture Extension Specialist
My Top 10 Frequently Asked Questions about:
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 4
1) What is aquaculture? The science, business and art of cultivating aquatic
plants and animals (The Council on Agricultural Education).
The farming of aquatic organisms, including fish, mollusks, crustaceans, and aquatic plants (FAO).
Aquaculture is agriculture – just add water.
2) Is aquaculture a new technology?
First recorded effort is from
China in 3,500 BC.
Because of overfishing the
Chinese started raising carp for
food.
Developed concept of
polyculture to take advantage of
multiple ecological niches within
a pond.
Emperor Fan Li wrote technical
manual on carp breeding in 5 BC
3a) History in the United States?
United States Commission on Fish and Fisheries precursor to NMFS
established in 1870 in Woods Hole
to culture fish and invertebrates
Cultured over 26 species during fiscal year 1897.
Produced large numbers of individual animals for restocking (1897). trout & salmon > 50,000,000 released shad > 134,000,000 released American lobster > 115,000,000 released Atlantic cod > 98,000,000 released winter flounder > 64,000,000 released
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 5
3b) What about local history? “The future of the quahaug industry of Massachusetts lies in the hands
of her citizens, since only through public sentiment can suitable laws be obtained for its preservation.”
“In the interests of the fishery it is essential that both consumer and fisherman receive more general knowledge concerning the quahaug fishery and the possibility of its development through quahaug farming.”
David L. Belding, M.D. “The Quahaug Fishery of Massachusetts”
1910
RI oyster landings
Rhode Island has a long history of aquatic farming
Rhode Island Oyster Act 1864
Established means to award oyster aquaculture leases
By 1900 – 20,000 acres under cultivation
1/3 of Narragansett Bay
Described as the most productive in the country
Collapsed by 1920’s
Decline in seed availability
Water quality?
Oysters finished off by Hurricane of 1938
1950’s – ability to lease bottom revoked
1980’s – the first modern aquaculture licenses awarded
3c) What about local history?
4) If not new technology - why so much talk
about aquaculture in recent years?
Increasing demand for farmed seafood
Diminishing wild fisheries, locally & globally
Increasing world population
Cultured seafood is “safer” seafood
(i.e. free from pollution)
Health benefits of eating seafood
(i.e. W-3 fatty acids)
More recently, increasing criticism
Aquatic nuisance species introductions
Inefficient use of feed resources (i.e. fishmeal)
Environmental contamination
NIMBY
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 6
4) If not new technology - why so much talk
about aquaculture in recent years?
Wild productivity versus overall demand for seafood.
Current global wild production = app. 90 million MT
Estimated sustainable production of oceans = 75 million MT
Projected world demand for seafood (2030) = 151 million MT
How will the extra demand be met?
Aquaculture Production in 2012 exceeded 66 million MT & increasing
Ryther 1960’s
5a) What is happening now? Shellfish culture in the Eastern U.S. - 2012 summary
About 1,000 small farms
~30 with more than 10 employees
In New England = ~4 acres/farm (~1.6 hectares)
Production
60% hard clams (quahogs – Mercenaria mercenaria)
39% oysters (Crassostrea virginica)
1% blue mussels (Mytilus edulis)
~ $121 million in sales
Up from $93 million in 2009
Most of the growth is in oyster production
Average income (New England) ~$12,000/acre
1,221 full time jobs & 1,294 part-time or seasonal jobs
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 7
5b) What aquaculture is
currently being done
in Rhode Island?
Finfish Operations (primarily freshwater)
9 farms
Shellfish Operations (exclusively marine)
70 farms
Shellfish currently cultured in RI
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 8
New kids on the block
http://www.crmc.ri.gov/pubs/
Average annual increase in landed value of farmed shellfish in Rhode Island between 1995 thru 2016 = ~20% per year
Increasing at an average of 12 acres per year
Increasing at an average of 2.8 new farms per year
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 9
5c) What about in Massachusetts?
In 2014: • ~350 shellfish
farms • $19.6 million
farmgate value • (526% growth
since 2005)
~ Shellfish ~ Traditional areas
Wellfleet
Cotuit
Newer areas
Barnstable
Pleasant Bay
Duxbury
Martha’s Vineyard
Developing areas
Falmouth
West side of Buzzards Bay
Nantucket
6a) How can aquaculture improve upon a
wild fishery?
Use catfish pond production as an example:
Wild pond (one acre) productivity = 100 lbs/year
Control species distribution of pond = 500 lbs/year
Beef production = 600 lbs/year
Switch pond to monoculture = 1,000 lbs/year
Manage pond and feed fish = 2-3,000 lbs/year
Complete control pond WQ & fish = 8,000 lbs/year
Partitioned Aquaculture System = 20,000 lbs/year
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 10
6b) What about shellfish?
In reality – catfish farmer’s can produce about 8,000 lbs of fish
per acre each year.
How do oysters stack up against this?
If you bottom plant at 50 oysters per m2
That is ~202,343 oysters per acre
If all are marketable in a year
That produces ~17,600 lbs of live oyster or 344 gal (~2,752 lbs) of
shucked meats (246.5 lbs nitrogen)
If 1/3 are marketable in one year
That produces ~5,900 lbs of live oyster or 115 gal (~920 lbs) of shucked
meats (82.4 lbs nitrogen)
7) What is the fate of all of those farmed
products?
~Public Aquaculture~
Farmed animals dedicated to restoration and enhancement of public resources
Rear animals through nursery stage
As the animal reaches a predetermined size they are relayed into the public beds
Efforts can be designated for Commercial
Recreational
Closed sanctuaries
Quahog Restoration (with RI Shellfishermen’s Assoc.)
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 11
Public quahog
restoration
Typical Rhode Island quahog
Oyster Restoration
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 12
7) What is the fate of all of those
farmed products? (cont’d)
~Private Aquaculture~ Specific areas are licensed to private growers
Licensing requires an extended application process
Requires approval by:
Town oversight body
RI DEM & CRMC
Army Corp of Engineers
Provides for exclusive use of that area
Private business enterprise
Rhode Island oysters “The Rhode-oyster”
8) How do you grow shellfish –
Bivalve Biology 101
A bivalve mollusk
Two-shells (valves)
Filter feeder
Removes very small
particles (2-3 mm)
“Pumps” large
volume of water to
feed
Has been reported to be
up to 50 gallons per day!
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 13
The hardy oyster Ranges from Prince Edward
Island in Canada down the
Atlantic coast and the Gulf of
Mexico to the Yucatan
Peninsula
Tolerates temperatures from
below freezing to 100+oF
Lives in the estuary, where it
tolerates salinity from 0 to 35
ppt
Oyster Reproduction
Life Cycle of a typical bivalve
Adapted from Rice, 1996
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 14
Oyster Terminology Larvae
Free-swimming babies during the first 2-3 weeks of the oyster’s life
Metamorphosis
When an oyster transforms from a larvae to their adult body shape
Settlement (Setting)
When a metamorphosing oyster cements itself down to a hard structure
Spat
A juvenile oyster after it has settled onto a location
Farmers call this “seed” when they purchase it to place on their farm
Recruitment
When the current pulse (cohort) of larvae settle into a location
9) What are the basic steps in shellfish farming?
Broodstock
Juvenile
Wild caught juveniles
Farm Site
Restocking
Market
Fertilized eggs
Larval rearing
Hatchery
Nursery
Grow-out
Shellfish Aquaculture The stages of aquaculture
Hatchery
Larvae raised in a controlled environment
Microscopic to ~2 millimeters (2-3 months)
Nursery
Post-metamorphic spat transitioning to the open
environment
~2 millimeters to ~25 millimeter (3-4 months)
Grow-out
Final rearing in the open environment to market size
~25 millimeter to ~75 millimeter (12 – 16 months)
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 15
Oyster Farming Stages
Hatchery
Nursery
Growout
Market size
RWU Hatchery
What Happens in a Shellfish Hatchery?
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 16
Microalgae
Jug stage
Carboy stage
Broodstock Conditioning
Unripe and Ripe Broodstock
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 17
Rice, 1992
Unfertilized
Egg & Sperm
D-hinge Umboned Pediveliger Juvenile veliger veliger
Trochophore
Fertilized Egg
w/ Polar Bodies
Gastrula
Blastula Early cell division
Sketch of the Quahog Life Cycle
Spawning
Rice, 1992
Unfertilized
Egg & Sperm
D-hinge Umboned Pediveliger Juvenile veliger veliger
Trochophore
Fertilized Egg
w/ Polar Bodies
Gastrula
Blastula Early cell division
Sketch of the Quahog Life Cycle
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 18
Fertilized eggs
Rice, 1992
Unfertilized
Egg & Sperm
D-hinge Umboned Pediveliger Juvenile veliger veliger
Trochophore
Fertilized Egg
w/ Polar Bodies
Gastrula
Blastula Early cell division
Sketch of the Quahog Life Cycle
Larval Culture
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 19
Rice, 1992
Unfertilized
Egg & Sperm
D-hinge Umboned Pediveliger Juvenile veliger veliger
Trochophore
Fertilized Egg
w/ Polar Bodies
Gastrula
Blastula Early cell division
Sketch of the Quahog Life Cycle
Downwellers for setting
Shellfish Nursery System
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 20
Shellfish Nursery System
Quahog Field Nursery System
Oyster field nursery system
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 21
Intertidal
Subtidal
Land-based
Floating
Suspended
On-Bottom
Let’s see what technology each of these strategies involves.
10) What is some of the growout technology
being used in the Northeast
10) What is some of the technology being
used in the Northeast
Oyster Bottom Culture
Bottom Culture
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 22
Harvesting
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Quahog Bottom Culture
Quahog – raceways
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 23
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Oyster Tray Culture
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Oyster Tray Culture
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Oyster Bottom Cages
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 24
Oyster Bags
Alternative Bottom Culture – Cage
Alternative Bottom Culture – Rack & Bag
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 25
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Oyster Rack + Bag & Longline Systems
Bottom Culture – Site View
Shellfish in Mid-water
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 26
Some of the technology being used in the
Northeast
Oyster Suspended Culture
Shellfish in Mid-water – Hanging Cages
Shellfish in Mid-water – Hanging Cages
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 27
Some of the
technology being
used in the
Northeast
Oyster Floating Bag Culture
Surface Culture – Taylor Floats
Surface Culture – Taylor Floats
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 28
Surface Culture – OysterGro Cages
Two Objectives in Shellfish Farming
Minimize mortality
Predation
Disease
Maximize growth
Substrate
Water quality
Temperature
Salinity
Food
Risks to growing shellfish
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 29
Preliminary
Determination
Full Aquaculture Application
Recommendations
to applicant
Director; Dept of
Environmental
Management; Fish
and Wildlife; Water
Resources;
Enforcement
30 Day
Public
Notice
Shellfish
Advisory Panel
RI Historical
Conservation
and
Preservation
Commission
Army Corps of
Engineers;
General
Permitting
RI Marine
Fisheries
Council
CRMC
CRMC Public
Hearing
DENIAL APPROVAL
No
Objections
Objections
Objections No Objections
Initial review with town, US
Coast Guard, Dept of
Environmental Management,
Army Corps of Engineers,
non-governmental agencies,
fishing industry
Siting and
Permitting
Business Management
Things to consider: Ecological Services
Water filtration/clarity
Nutrient removal
Shellfish harvest
Benthic/pelagic coupling with denitrification
Habitat enhancement
Societal Services
Marine-based industry
Sustains the working waterfront
Economic input into the community
Supports ancillary marine-related industries
Generates jobs
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 30
More Things to consider: A carefully regulated enterprise
State regulations
Coastal Resources Management Council
Consultation with RI-DEM and RI-DOH
Federal oversight
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is ultimate Federal authority
In consultation with US-EPA, US-F&WS, NOAA, USDA, etc.
Last Thing to consider:
Shellfish aquaculture is an
industry whose success is
dependent on high water
quality
Best Management Practices for
the Shellfish Aquaculture Industry http://www.ecsga.org/Pages/Resources/
ECSGA_BMP_Manual.pdf
What should you know?
Competencies Survey
Responses (53 total)
35 shellfish producers
9 government/regulatory
5 outreach/extension
2 university research/instruction
2 NGOs
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 31
Important Competencies Scientific/Technical
Shellfish Disease Recognition and Treatment
Shellfish Biology (Genetics, anatomy, & physiology)
Shellfish Predators & Biofouling
Best Management Practices for Growout
Site Selection and Site Dynamics
Regulatory Governmental and Tribal Authorities and Regulations
Relationship with Regulatory, Biosecurity & Extension Personnel
Permit Application Process
Food Safety
Human Health & Safety Shellfish-derived Human Pathogens/Contamination Risks
Human Health Safety Issues and Regulations
Worker Safety
Important Competencies Business
Business Planning/Permitting/Insurance
Marketing/Social Media/Branding
Professional Development/Networking
Financial Fundamentals
Seamanship
Boat Handling/Seamanship Skills
Worker Safety
Equipment and Site Management
Boat Maintenance
Physical Environment (Tides/Weather)
General Professional
Public Engagement Skills and Knowing the Industry
Personality & Personal Management Skills
Other
Work Ethic, Practical Skills, Ability to Acquire New Skills
Common Sense
Passion for the Industry
Practical Shellfish Farming
Tentative Class Schedule
Dale Leavittt
A Primer on Aquaculture or You want to grow what - where? 32
In a short time, you too can produce clams
like this!
Six month
old clam!
or oysters like this!
Well….maybe like this!