OYSTER AQUACULTURE

Aquaculture total = 4,500,000 mt in 2003

France108,600

China3,625,548 Korea

170,286

Japan221,376

United States93,820

World Yield of OystersWorld Yield of Oysters

Japanese Oyster = 98%

4,400,000 mt in 2003

93,463 mtU.S. Total

10,000 mtAustralia (Jpn. + Sydney)

66,000 mtU.S. (Eastern Oyster)

43,000 mtU.S. (Jpn. Oyster)

117,000 mtFrance (> Jpn. Oyster)

261,000 mtJapan (Jpn. Oyster)

Industrial Countries – top 43,700,000 mtChina (Jpn. Oyster)

FAO - 2003

Fished and farmed harvest = ~ 109,000 mt.Jpn Oyster = ~ 40% of total harvest, 98 % culture

Meat is 10% of the whole

oyster weight

2001 U.S. Oyster Yields2001 U.S. Oyster Yields

116mtAlaska

1,900 mtOregon

2,600 mtCalifornia

22,000 mtWashington

CALIFORNIA OYSTER INDUSTRY

THE WORLD RUSHES INMiddle of 1848

~ 14,0007500 Californians6500 Americans

End of 1849~100,000

AVERAGE MINER WAGE $ 10 – 20/DAY

Standard Fare

Flour/lb ............................ 25 to 30 cents Dried meat

Beef/lb ……................ 40 to 75 cents Salt Pork/lb …….......... 40 to 75 cents

Beans/lb ………….……..………20 centsCoffee/lb ………..…….……20 to 33 centsSugar/lb ............................ 30 to 50 centsHangtown fries (oysters, bacon & eggs) ...$ 6.00

Olympia oyster = Ostrea conchaphila(formerly O. lurida)

• S.F. oyster beds depleted by 1851

• Fresh East Coast oysters arriving by ship in barrels cost $6 apiece

1850 – 1869 Olympia oysters from Shoalwater Bay (WillapaBay) & Puget Sound, WA

1851 = 5,000 bushels1851 = 5,000 bushels

1860 = 30,000 bushels1860 = 30,000 bushels

1890 = 130,000 bushels1890 = 130,000 bushels

1920 = stocks depleted1920 = stocks depleted

1875 Transcontinental Railroad

“Relaying” of Eastern oyster (Crassostreavirginica) seed for growout in S.F. Bay

• 1889 – 1.5 thousand mt of seed imported• 1899 – 1,100 mt of oyster meat produced• 1908 – Down to ~ 600 mt of oyster meat• 1921 – Seed shipments discontinued• 1939 – Holding of imported stock halted

C. virginica on the Pacific Coast

• Limited natural reproduction –spawning temperature ~ 25oC

• As S.F. Bay becomes polluted growout shifted to Washington

• 1883 railroad reached Willapa Bay• 1897 – WWI large Eastern oyster relay

industry in Washington• 1919 – Eastern oyster stocks suffered

a massive mortality (unknown cause)

Crassostrea gigasthe Japanese or Pacific oyster

C. gigas

Native oysterOsteaconchaphila

Crassostrea gigasJapanese or Pacific oyster

ONE TOUGH OYSTER• broadcast spawner• > 16 ppt• growth 10 - 30 oC• will withstand < 0o C

periods• withstands periods of

turbid water conditions• problem - requires

temperatures greater than 20o C for spawning

Growout of Spat on CultchExtensive culture – minimal care

Bottom culture

1. Cost of Japanese spat was rising2. Infrequent natural spawning of C. gigas

Development of HatcheriesU.S. West Coast – 1980’s

Broodstock• broodstock is conditioned for 2 - 6

weeks flow-through trays fed algae• 30% males (1.5 - 2 years old); 70%

females (2.5 years and older)• each female will produce millions

(60 - 90) eggs• Salinity - above 20 ppt• Water temp. - ~ 20oC

Spawning

• Presence of gametes in the water

• Temperature shock

• Blender technique

Oyster Oyster Life Life

CycleCycle

Lots and lots of algae

Larvae ready to be set can be placed in tanks with bags of cultch

Eyed larvae

Bags of cultch

Eyed Larvae

IMPACT OF HATCHERIES

I. Growout of Spat on CultchExtensive culture – minimal care

Either on-bottom or off-bottom culture

II. Cultchless spat

Spat settled on crushed oyster shell

Spat can be placed in protected intertidal zones to grow and “harden” for several months. Exposing the spat to the airperiodically reduces predation.

Nursery

Rack and bag

Oyster density, size, and shape as well as predators and fouling are controlled.

Cultchless Growout

Fouling organisms compete for space and food with oysters and restrict water flow through enclosures

fouled cleanedControl ofFouling

Removed by drying, pressure spraying, manual cleaning and dipping in a toxic solution.

Oysters cultured in bags, trays and on ropes are often harvested mechanically because of their weight.

Oyster HarvestOff-bottom

HARVEST OF OYSTERSBottom - culture

Growout in California4" oyster in 13 - 18 months

Frozen on half shellFresh on half shellcanned

shucked

live Market

U.S. Court of Appealsfor the Ninth Circuit

Association to Protect Hammersley, Eld and Totten Inlets (APHETI)

plaintiffversus

Taylor Resourcesdefendant

Issue

Do mussel shells, mussel feces and other biological materials emitted from mussels grown on harvesting rafts constitute the discharge of pollutants from a point source without a “NPDES” permit in violation of the Clean Water Act?APHETI argues it DOES!

Background1990’s – Taylor

produces > 20,000 lbs of mussels/yr (at the time, fish farms of this would have required a NPDES permit)

Gallo mussels – first introduced into Puget Sound in the 1970’s

Taylor attaches mussel seeds to suspension ropes that hang from floating rafts –some release

Taylor’s stand

• Gallo mussel now established• Mussels act as filters and enhance

water quality• Taylor has all necessary permits• Washing Department of Ecology

(EPA surrogate) stated a NPDES permit was not required.

Judges Decision As defined in the Clean Water Act – the term “pollutant” means dredged spoil, solid waste, etc. chemical wastes, biological materials, etc. agricultural waste discharged into waterHowever, It was not the intention of the Congress to include shellfish in the definition of biological material – i.e. no adverse effect

Environmental issues and regulation

Food SafetyNational Shellfish Sanitation Program

(NSSP) under the FDA• Requires that both farmed and “wild”

harvest growing areas be distinctly demarcated

• Each growing area tested for pathogens and classified as to water quality as determined by fecal coliform counts

Classification of Growing Areas• Approved areas – highest water quality, allowing

harvest at all times• Conditionally approved areas – where fecal

coliforms levels spike above the maximum level during or after storm events, harvest allowed at other times – Tomales Bay, CA

• Restricted area – where fecal coliforms levels are routinely higher that the maximum level allowed and requires products to be relayed out to an Approved or Conditional area to purge for several months

• Prohibited - areas in proximity to sewer outfalls, marinas, industrial effluent discharge areas or other potential sources of contamination

Food Safety (cont.)• NSSP requires harvesters to use tags on

each container of shellfish which lists the company name, harvest location and date

• Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) was formed in 1982 to foster and promote shellfish sanitation through the cooperation of state and federal control agencies, the shellfish industry, and the academic community

Key Problems• Vibrio vulnificus – parasitic bacterium that

infest oysters and causes lethal septicemia in individuals with impaired immune systems. 4 deaths in California in 2000. A significant problem in Gulf Coast oysters. FDA is considering pasteurization (cooking) to be required of all Gulf Coast oysters.

• Toxic algae – consumption of several species of algae containing toxic algae can lead to high levels of the toxins in oysters. Paralytic shellfish poisoning and amnesic shellfish poisoning are the two most common on the Pacific coast. Monitored by the individual states Department of Health using the mouse assay. Note: cooking does not destroy these algal toxins

CDF&G• California Department of Fish and Game –

is the lead agency for aquaculture• Each aquaculture facility including oyster

growers must submit an annual registration with the department and maintain sales and production records for inspection

• leases tidelands to oyster growers– $ 2.00/arce plus a privilege tax of $ 0.04/packed

gallon of oysters– Lease holder has exclusive right to cultivate

and harvest aquatic organisms in the lease area

State Department of Health

• California Department of Health Service – certification of growing areas; monitoring for the occurrence of biotoxins and approves facilities used for handling, shucking, and marketing shellfish

• Oregon and Alaska have similar programs

Guardians of the Environment• Industry active in pursuing legislation

to better address coastal point and non-point source pollution

• Supported the passage of the California Shellfish Protection Act of 1993, requiring the Regional Water Quality Control Boards to investigate the causes of pollution adversely affected shellfish growing areas.

Local issues – Humboldt Bay, CA• Coast Seafoods, the largest oyster producer in the

nation, farms 600 acres in the Bay producing 2 million pounds of oysters annually

• Cultched spat is shipped from hatcheries in Washington and planted on the bottom of the bay. Oyster beds are routinely dragged with nets to scoop out bat rays (and everything else)

• Three years later, harvesting is done with a hydraulic dredge (shooting water into the shell bed and forcing the oysters onto a conveyor belt) The shellfish are shucked and packaged at the company’s plant in Eureka. Excess shell is dumped in the bay

Local issues – Humboldt Bay, CA (cont.)Coast Seafoods

• No Environmental Impact Report (estimated cost $ 1,000,000)

• Company began operating in the bay in the 1950’s.

• Thus, Coast claims they are exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requirements (1972)

Company moving to off-bottom culture

Federal versus State Regulations

- Washington State

Callow Act 1891

Allowed oyster growers to purchase the areas in which they were farming and gave them a vested interest in protection of the environment

Washington State – private ownership of the tidelands

• Traditionally, the oysters growers have tilled, stabilized, and sprayed (since 1963) these private lands to enhance the oyster beds

Private Tidelands (cont.)• In 2001, Washington State Willapa Bay

oyster growers (who treat oyster beds for burrowing shrimp) were threatened with a third party lawsuit because they didn't have NPDES permit coverage. They subsequently chose not to treat in 2001, permanently losing some oyster beds by this action

• The need for a NPDES permit under the Clean Water Act for any aquatic pesticide or herbicide users was established in March 2001 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling –Headwaters, et al. vs. Talent Irrigation District

Private Tidelands (cont.)• 2002 - Willapa Bay Oyster Growers Association,

WA received a conditional NPDES permit to spray more than three tons of carbaryl (Sevin) onto the tidelands for ghost shrimp control

• July 2002 - The Pollution Control Board limited the application of carbaryl to oyster beds to the minimum number of acres necessary to provide scientific controls for: – economic injury research for completion of the

integrated pest management plan to control burrowing shrimp

– other scientific studies identified in the 2002 permit.

Stay tuned!The Washington Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (WA Peer) has submitted a formal complaint to the EPA to prevent ANYcarbaryl spraying