World Yield of Oysters Aquaculture total = 4,500,000 mt in 2003

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1 OYSTER AQUACULTURE

2 World Yield of Oysters Aquaculture total = 4,500,000 mt in 2003 United States 93,820 France 108,600 China 3,625,548 Korea 170,286 Japan 221,376 Japanese Oyster = 98% 4,400,000 mt in 2003

3 FAO China (Jpn. Oyster) Japan (Jpn. Oyster) France (> Jpn. Oyster) 3,700,000 mt Industrial Countries top 4 261,000 mt 117,000 mt U.S. Total 93,463 mt U.S. (Jpn. Oyster) 43,000 mt U.S. (Eastern Oyster) Australia (Jpn. + Sydney) 66,000 mt 10,000 mt

4 2001 U.S. Oyster Yields Fished and farmed harvest = ~ 109,000 mt. Jpn Oyster = ~ 40% of total harvest, 98 % culture Meat is 10% of the whole oyster weight Washington California Oregon 22,000 mt 2,600 mt 1,900 mt Alaska 116mt

5 CALIFORNIA OYSTER INDUSTRY

6 THE WORLD RUSHES IN Middle of 1848 ~ 14, Californians 6500 Americans End of 1849 ~100,000

7 AVERAGE MINER WAGE $ 10 20/DAY Standard Fare Flour/lb to 30 cents Dried meat Beef/lb to 75 cents Salt Pork/lb to 75 cents Beans/lb cents Coffee/lb to 33 cents Sugar/lb to 50 cents Hangtown fries (oysters, bacon & eggs)...$ 6.00

8 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

9 Olympia oysters from Shoalwater Bay (Willapa Bay) & Puget Sound, WA 1851 = 5,000 bushels 1860 = 30,000 bushels 1890 = 130,000 bushels 1920 = stocks depleted

10 1875 Transcontinental Railroad Relaying of Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) seed for growout in S.F. Bay thousand mt of seed imported ,100 mt of oyster meat produced 1908 Down to ~ 600 mt of oyster meat 1921 Seed shipments discontinued 1939 Holding of imported stock halted

11 C. virginica on the Pacific Coast Limited natural reproduction spawning temperature ~ 25 o C 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)

12 Crassostrea gigas the Japanese or Pacific oyster C. gigas Native oyster Ostea conchaphila

13 Crassostrea gigas Japanese or Pacific oyster ONE TOUGH OYSTER broadcast spawner > 16 ppt growth o C will withstand < 0 o C periods withstands periods of turbid water conditions problem - requires temperatures greater than 20o C for spawning

14 Growout of Spat on Cultch Extensive culture minimal care Bottom culture

15 Development of Hatcheries U.S. West Coast 1980 s 1. Cost of Japanese spat was rising 2. Infrequent natural spawning of C. gigas

16 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

17 Spawning Presence of gametes in the water Temperature shock Blender technique

18 Oyster Life Cycle

19 Lots and lots of algae

20 Eyed Larvae Larvae ready to be set can be placed in tanks with bags of cultch Eyed larvae Bags of cultch

21 IMPACT OF HATCHERIES

22 I. Growout of Spat on Cultch Extensive culture minimal care Either on-bottom or off-bottom culture

23 II. Cultchless spat Spat settled on crushed oyster shell

24 Nursery Spat can be placed in protected intertidal zones to grow and harden for several months. Exposing the spat to the air periodically reduces predation.

25 Cultchless Growout Rack and bag Oyster density, size, and shape as well as predators and fouling are controlled.

26 Control of Fouling Removed by drying, pressure spraying, manual cleaning and dipping in a toxic solution. fouled cleaned Fouling organisms compete for space and food with oysters and restrict water flow through enclosures

27 Oyster Harvest Off-bottom Oysters cultured in bags, trays and on ropes are often harvested mechanically because of their weight.

28 HARVEST OF OYSTERS Bottom - culture

29 Growout in California 4" oyster in months

30 live Market shucked canned Fresh on half shell Frozen on half shell

31 U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Association to Protect Hammersley, Eld and Totten Inlets (APHETI) plaintiff versus Taylor Resources defendant

32 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!

33 Background 1990 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

34 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.

35 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 water However, It was not the intention of the Congress to include shellfish in the definition of biological material i.e. no adverse effect

36 Environmental issues and regulation Food Safety National 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

37 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

38 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

39 Key Problems Vibrio vulnificus parasitic bacterium that infest oysters and causes lethal septicemia in individuals with impaired immune systems. 4 deaths in California in 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

40 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

41 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

42 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.

43 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

44 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

45 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 Federal versus State Regulations - Washington State

46 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

47 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 th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling Headwaters, et al. vs. Talent Irrigation District

48 Private Tidelands (cont.) 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 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.

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