U.S. Farmed Mussel consumption is growing

Transcription

1 Update on U.S. Shellfish Aquaculture R+D October 2016 Carter Newell, Ph.D. Pemaquid Mussel Farms, Pemaquid Oyster Company, Undine Marine, University of Maine School of Marine Sciences Advances in mussel farming and processing Modeling oyster and mussel farms in US and Ireland Shellfish GIS systems Monitoring and modeling estuarine scale productivity in Maine Remote sensing of key environmental drivers Benthic Impacts and nutrient recycling

2 U.S. Farmed Mussel consumption is growing FAO 2014

3 U.S. mollusk aquaculture has grown 35% in the last 8 years to over $300 million

4 Maine and U.S. mussel production lags way behind imports World production of farmed mussels is over 3.5 BILLION pounds

5 Maine has vast amounts of semi-exposed bays suitable for mussel farming

6 Raft culture is the future (due to ducks). Bottom culture. Raft culture Longline culture (Several companies have tried this offshore and got ducked )

7 Mussel Aquaculture in Maine $2.5 million annual sales and growing

8 Maine mussel raft technology involved Technology transfer from Spain, PEI, Netherlands, Scotland

9 We grow over 30 tons of mussels worth over $100,000 on a 13mx13m raft Penn Cove Mussel Farms is a large scale mussel raft farm on the U.S. West Coast and is also based on raft culture

10 14m pegged ropes utilize deep coastal waters for seafood farming

11 Raft grown mussels have Premium quality, price and recognition on the marketplace Most farms process at sea All mussels come from approved shellfish growing areas so no depuration is needed Pemaquid Mussel Farms harvest and process 1-2 tons a day on their 20m barge Mumbles including harvesting, declumping, grading, debyssing, purging, packing and icing. Small seed mussels recovered are seeded back on at the end of the day.

12 What s the downside? Significant wave height (m) in Machias Bay Most of the ocean area is exposed to waves over 3m high during ocean storms

13 What happens after a bad storm? Crop failure!

14 How about drift ice and extreme winters?

15 5 Years and $600,000 in Research and Development to eliminate risk in mussel raft culture Ocean engineering, wave tank and scale model testing, structural and hydraulic model, components testing, field testing, final refinements Vertical velocity, acceleration, pitch, heave,surge reduced by over 90% when the raft is submerged!!!!!

16 Simulation of raft under water or at the surface

17 The patent pending Pemaquid Submersible Mussel Raft is a new high yield grow-out technology that eliminates risk in mussel farming The new raft allows for reliable mussel production on thousands of acres of deep water miles from shore along the Maine coast.

18 Raft is modular and can be assembled in 3 hours. The raft is manufactured in Maine Turn a valve and it sinks below damaging waves and drift ice. Add compressed air and it comes up to the surface for seeding and harvesting. Value proposition: 200% higher yields, reduced depreciation, payoff in 1 year, eliminates crop failure. Documented yield: 4 to 5 kg per meter over 17 month grow-out cycle Available in 2017 Mark II raft from Undine Marine, LLC holds over 5 km of ropes produces over 50 mt, cost estimate under 80,000.

19 A new package to keep mussels fresher and increase their sales. Research and Development Leading to Commercialization Toward FDA approval of High Oxygen Packaging (MAP) for live mussels 6 Strains of non-proteolyic botulism would not grow in a MAP pack even under extreme temperature abuse and in the absence of oxygen New research direction: identification of lysosymes and antimicrobial factors in mussel haemolymph and pallial cavity fluid Newell, C.R., L. Ma and M. Doyle Inability of non-proteolytic Clostridium botulinum to grow in mussels inoculated via immersion and packaged in high oxygen atmospheres. Food Microbiology 46: Newell, C.R., L. Ma and M. Doyle Botulism challenge studies of a modified atmosphere package for fresh mussels: inoculated pack studies. J. Food Prot. 75:

20 How much mussel seed should we plant? Bottom culture and research in the 1990 s R+D Leading to Commercialization SBIR Phase 2 MUSMOD Maine we were able to adjust seeding densities and spread mussel seed to optimize seed to harvest yields, growth rate and meat yield Industry in Ireland was over-seeding bottom densities and not spreading the mussels well significantly affecting yield and quality Carlingford Lough example industry was seeding 40 tons per hectare everywhere

21 Mussel Raft Expert System How to design and place mussel rafts so the mussels grow fast? R+D Leading to Commercialization USDA SBIR Phase 2 With Dr. John Richardson, Blue Hill Hydraulics Newell, C.R. and J. Richardson The effects of ambient and aquaculture structure hydrodynamics on the food supply and demand of mussel rafts. J. Shellfish Res. 32: Water velocity and particle depletion for single and multiple raft systems

22 Site Selection: Currents can`t be too high or too low (depending on culture type)

23 Modeling and Seston depletion studies in Ireland part of UISCE project Killary Longlines, Dungarvan trestles, Wexford bottom culture.

24 Findings UISCE project Killary Harbor mussel longlines Oceanography resulted in higher phytoplankton inner and outer harbor and above 7 m depth due to stratification Better flow rates in inner and outer harbor also Optimal mussel density on rope was about 400 mussels per meter Most of the farms located in the middle harbor Industry would benefit from moving farms, a continuous longline system and thinning crops with overset Dungarvan Oyster Trestles Southern region with lower flow would benefit from lower densities in the bags All trestles would grow faster oysters if the angle to flow direction was 10 degrees from straight on or more Northern area with higher flow could grow more oysters Wexford Bottom mussels Sites within harbor vary by a factor of 5 for recommended seeding densities Industry overseeding plots and not spreading mussels properly, losing seed to harvest yield and meat yield ASSG 2016

25 Refinement of an oyster aquaculture GIS system: from growth to ecosystem interactions Newell, C.R. 1,2 ; Brady, D. 2 ; Coupland, K. 2 1 Maine Shellfish R&D, Damariscotta, Maine, USA, 04543; 2 School of Marine Sciences, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA, oysters How do coastal ecosystems affect the growth rates of Crassostrea virginica on seafarms? How do populations of Crassostrea virginica affect coastal ecosystems? 11 miles 5 The Damariscotta River Estuary and locations of monitoring buoys

26 The Nexus of Coastal Social-Environmental Systems & Sustainable Ecological Aquaculture EPSCoR RII Track 1 $20 million

27 Why are we interested in this? Recognize and quantify the value of estuaries as food growing areas Understand what makes estuaries productive and how they change under different environments (i.e. increased temperatures and precipitation) Quantify ecosystem services of bivalves Choose and manage sites based on their suitability and sustainability Evolve from trial and error aquaculture to sustainable economic development Improve engineering of aquaculture structures and placement in estuaries They taste good! How can we do this? Combination of modeling and field data collection. Use water samples, transects and continuous buoy data collection of key environmental drivers. Know the relevance of these drivers to individual oysters and oyster populations

28 Scales of Interactions The estuary Geomorphology - water depth, PAR, water residence times, fresh water input, nutrient sources, exposure to waves, physical oceanography The bay Productivity PAR and nutrients, seasonal and tidal effects, weather events, grazing, water flow patterns, resuspension The farm Food supply and demand, oyster biomass, aquaculture structure (suspended, bottom), husbandry The oyster Local food availability as a function of stocking density, particle concentration and quality, hydrodynamics

29 Environmental Growth Drivers and Ecosystem Interactions American oyster growth drivers Ecosystem interactions Increased Water temperature leads to increased: Filtration rate Food assimilation rate Shell growth rate Reproduction Current speed: Supports larger populations Sedimentation of biodeposits -> increased benthic - pelagic coupling Light penetration Nutrient regenerations and nutrient removal Benthic and pelagic habitat for invertebrates, fish, and birds Benthic diatom populations Decreased Other factors Salinity leads to decreased: Filtration rates (<18 psu) Food Quality: Phytoplankton Detritus nutrition (phytodetritus, macroalgal detritus) Phytoplankton biomass Restoration of wild populations

30 WHY A GIS? Site selection for sustainable seafarms Improve husbandry practices and profitability (growth rate and yield) Understand aquaculture/environment and human interactions

31 System architecture Based on STEM-GIS platform developed by Discovery Software Ltd. x, y, z, time dimensions Data layers (50 m grid) Flow model out put Water quality data Static layers ShellGIS Workspace Models SHELLSIM growth model Benthic boundary layer particle and nutrient exchange algorithms Suspension culture particle and nutrient exchange algorithms Hydraulic zone of influence Economic models Benthic biodeposition and nutrient regeneration (coming soon!)

32 ShellSIM calibrated by field measures of oyster responses to environmental conditions (food quality) Absorption of food particles Food availability, measured and modeled growth using ShellSIM

33 Factors affecting utility and functionality of GIS system Data and models Hydrodynamic flow model (Mike 21, FVCOM) Bathymetry, tide gauge and water velocity field measurements Shellfish growth model (ShellSIM) species calibration (ecophysiology) in-situ Water quality data: how it varies temporally and spatially within the bay and the farm User interface For growers: what species, what type of culture, where, seed size, density, time of year: growth rates, yield, profit For scientists: how animals respond to changing environments, model functional responses such as clearance rates, oxygen consumption, ammonium excretion, biodeposition, growth, and reproduction For regulators: (coming soon) ecosystem services, benthic impacts and nutrient regeneration

34 Model results: oysters At one location (click on map) Effects of density (bottom culture) Oyster live weight for different bottom densities (no. m -2 ) Effects of temperature (+/- 5ºC) For whole bay (% reduction in growth) at 2 bottom densities 100 oysters m oysters m -2

35 How can we improve our understanding of oyster/ecosystem interactions? Better data on growth drivers : CTD transects and water samples 5.00 Mean chl a all profiles Aug - Nov, 2015 Mean temperature CTD profiles Damariscotta River Aug - Nov Upper river Perkins Pt Glidden ledges Darling Center S Bristol 0.00 Upper river Perkins Pt Glidden ledges Darling Center S Bristol 0 Aug 27 Sept 11 Oct 6 Oct 23 Nov 10 Nov 23 Salinity Aug - Nov 2015 Damariscotta Upper river Aug 27 Sept 11 Oct 6 Oct 23 Nov 10 Nov 23 Perkins Pt Glidden ledges Darling Center S Bristol Student transects

36 How can we improve our understanding of oyster/ecosystem interactions? Water samples Mean primary production rate Avg Pmax (µg C L-1 d-1) Perkins Pt Darling Center S Bristol Perkins Pt Darling Center Nitrate (um) S Bristol 27-Aug Sep-15 6-Oct Oct Nov Nov Perkins Pt Ammonium (um) Darling Center S Bristol Perkins Point located in the middle of the oyster growing area at the head of the river. Main source of nitrate to the river is from the Gulf of Maine. Ammonium is important with recycled nitrogen from sediments and biodeposits.

37 How can we improve our understanding of oyster and ecosystem interactions? Water samples: Phytoplankton C (µg l -1 ) Growing area productivity driven by small flagellates Mean primary production rate Avg Pmax (µg C L-1 d-1) Perkins Pt Darling Center S Bristol Picoeukaryote cells ml -1 Perkins Pt Darling Center S Bristol Flow-through in-situ feeding chambers oysters graze the 3-20 µm size range of cells

38 How can we improve our understanding of oyster/ecosystem interactions? LOBO buoys ph September 25 to October Time (hourly samples) ph LOBO 1 ph LOBO Quenching of Chl a Time (hourly samples)

39 How can we improve our understanding of oyster/ecosystem interactions? Carbon, nitrogen and detritus (ug/l) Mean POC (ug/l) at Buoy Stations Perkins Pt Darling Center S Bristol Mean PON (ug/l) at Buoy Stations Perkins Pt Darling Center S Bristol

40 Larger picture of shellfish growth drivers: Chl a µg l -1 from Landsat mid-coast Maine August,

41 Turbidity mid-coast Maine Red area is output from river

42 Surface water temperature September, 2015 Mid-coast Red areas are suitable American oyster habitat

43 *Testa, J.M, D.C. Brady, J.C. Cornwell, M.S. Owens, L.P. Sanford, M.S. Owens, L.P. Sanford, C.R. Newell, S.E. Suttles and R.I.E. Newell Modeling the impact of floating oyster aquaculture on sediment-water nutrient and oxygen fluxes. Aquaculture Environment Interactions 7: cm s-1 s Modeling Biodeposition : What happens to it?* In both Maine and Maryland, shellfish biodeposition is about 2x background deposition but at these sites with tidal flow > 35 cm s -1 most is moved off site Oyster, mussel and tunicate biodeposits settle at.2-2 cm s Biodeposit ESD (mm) Maryland farm biodeposition settles quickly to bottom and mostly moved as bedload due to resuspension from tidal currents and waves Most of the nitrogen is converted back to ammonium for the phytoplankton to use within days, affecting the Bay Scale nutrient budget for phytoplankton

44 Oyster ecosystem interactions: benthic-pelagic coupling In Maryland, a million mature oysters removes >1000 kg TPM per day and repackages it into biodeposits 2000 Total particulate matter per oyster d -1 Measured (Maine) and modeled biodeposition (ShellSIM, Maryland) Feces TPM mg d-1 Pseudo TPM mg d Temperature C Total carbon mg d-1 0 Maine May Maine July Maryland August 0 Maine May Maine July Maryland August Maryland conditions in August (used in ShellSIM) Chl a SPM POM PIM Temp Sal DO ug l-1 mg l-1 mg l-1 mg l-1 C ppt mg l

45 Biodeposition continued: the importance of erosion Every site is different but in general, higher water velocity allows for greater farm productivity as well as better nutrient recycling efficiency and minimal benthic impact Maryland site: high loadings, shallow water but tidal resuspension and periodic wave resuspension Green Area where current induced erosion rate exceeds deposition rate High tidal velocities at the outside of the site Yellow Area with wave induced resuspension using SWAN wave model and water depth

46 What have we learned? Estuarine geomorphology results in longer residence times in coastal estuaries, where it is shallow and sufficient PAR and nutrients for phytoplankton to grow, increasing primary productivity. This results in higher diatom, ciliate and microflagellate concentrations. A Shellfish GIS system may be used to quantify aquaculture/environment interactions and improve husbandry practices. Oyster and mussel farms act to concentrate, remove and recycle nutrients in the estuary. Biodeposition increases with water temperature, phytoplankton concentrations and suspended particulate matter but hydrodynamic factors control its dispersion. A reduction in vertical velocities and accelerations of mussel gear will significantly increase yields on suspended ropes. Farm scale hydrodynamics, interacting with aquaculture structures, seeded biomass and estuarine scale primary production provide a limit on shellfish farm productivity. We can grow macroalgae too!

47 What can we do? Reduce cost of modeling and data collection, make the GIS widely available for stakeholders (web based), and user friendly Frequently asked questions Coastal Observation Buoy (COB) Prescott, Newell, Davis 2016 $2500 Develop optical measures of detritus Temp, sal, PAR, chl a shellfish growth basket, wifi Remote sensing Model water column effects of a small farm

48 What can we do? Improved ecophysiology models of organism responses to environmental conditions (velocity) Mussel example (Mytilus edulis) Mussels feed at maximum rates on submersible mussel raft independent of wave height Effects of water velocity on mussel filtration rates or exhalant siphon area (% of maximum) Newell et al, 2001* (Fig. 6). * Newell, C.R., D.J. Wildish and B.A. MacDonald The effects of velocity and seston concentration on the exhalant siphon area, valve gape and filtration rate of the mussel Mytilus edulis. J. Exp. Mar. Biol. Ecol. 262:

49 Acknowledgements