Advancing Southern Oyster Mariculture William C. Walton Auburn University School of Fisheries, Aquaculture & Aquatic Sciences Alabama Cooperative Extension System
My Background With Auburn University s School of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Sciences and Alabama Cooperative Extension System since Jan. 2009 Prior to working here, I worked as an Extension agent on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, working with shellfishermen, shellfish farmers and resource managers On the weekends, had a small oyster farm in Cape Cod Bay for 5 years Produced Bees River oysters
Auburn University Shellfish Laboratory On Dauphin Island Sea Lab grounds Opened in 2003 Able to spawn over 200 million oysters per year Facilities could readily support other marine invertebrate culture Able to raise at least 40 million 2 mm oyster spat per year Resource for oystermen, resource managers, etc. focused on applied research
Oysters South: Shared Challenges and Opportunities
Why Aren t We Doing More Off- Bottom Oyster Farming? Why Farm Something that Nature Provides in Abundance? Problems of Fouling and Overset Concerns about Potential Price for Regional Farmed Oysters Risk of Hurricanes Risk of Theft, Vandalism
Why Off-Bottom Oyster Farming? Provide Consistently High Quality that Nature Does Not Intended for the premium, high value niche markets Primarily live, raw half-shell market that emphasizes quality Off-bottom farming has very high survival, allowing culture of triploid oysters which do not suffer from poor summer condition Branded oysters assure quality, cleanliness, freshness, etc. Reduce variation in quality Not competition with shucked product or even less expensive sacks of oysters Rather, adds high value niche product that could help overall perceptions Stability of income with possible limited season harvest
Why Aren t We Doing More Off- Bottom Oyster Farming? Why Farm Something that Nature Provides in Abundance? Problems of Fouling and Overset Concerns about Potential Price for Regional Farmed Oysters Risk of Hurricanes Risk of Theft, Vandalism
Solving Problem of Fouling & Overset Cost Effectively In Alabama, collaboratively tested 4 types of gear, of which 3 control fouling through air drying Australian long-lines Floating cages Floating bags Bottom cages Needed to produce oysters that at most needed a rinse
Grow-Out Gear OysterGro Floating Bag BST LowPro Photos: Bill Walton, Courtney Coddington, & Julie Davis
Air Drying Takes Oysters Fully Out of Water: Control Frequency and Duration of Low Tide
Why Aren t We Doing More Off- Bottom Oyster Farming? Why Farm Something that Nature Provides in Abundance? Problems of Fouling and Overset Concerns about Potential Price for Regional Farmed Oysters Risk of Hurricanes Risk of Theft, Vandalism
Restaurant Menu in Nashville, February 2013
Markets and Price In 2009, advised that top price would be 15 cents per oyster Currently, wholesale prices of 30 to 70 cents per oyster Focused on high end markets in US Southeast Atlanta, Houston, Birmingham, Nashville, etc. Opportunity/challenges in outside markets?
Why Aren t We Doing More Off- Bottom Oyster Farming? Why Farm Something that Nature Provides in Abundance? Problems of Fouling and Overset Concerns about Potential Price for Regional Farmed Oysters Risk of Hurricanes Developing strategies and insurance options Risk of Theft, Vandalism To be determined
Very Early Stages of Industry across Region North Carolina ~25 operations. Annual harvest? South Carolina 3-5 farms Georgia Currently does not allow off-bottom farming but some hand-selection of premium oysters being done Florida ~2 dozen permit modifications to start off-bottom oyster farms in Gulf, with rules change in last 12 months Alabama 8 (12 acres currently) now established in Alabama with 3+ more expecting to be fully permitted and harvesting by fall 2015 (15+ acres) Mississippi Application being considered in Mississippi,, with legislative changes pending to allow off-bottom oyster farming Louisiana 3 farms in Louisiana, with one in production currently Oyster farming park established in LA for 25 acres Texas Not allowed by state, but significant interest and hand-selection of premium oysters off private beds
Alabama Growth In 2009, no farming Over this last year (2014), harvest was approximately 1,000,000 oysters Seed orders for farms in Alabama this year currently total approximately 4 million seed
Current Locations
Point aux Pins Oyster Farm & Mobile Oyster Company (AL)
Park Layout
Portersville Bay Oyster Farm Park by Sam St. John
Bird s Eye View
Aquaculture Research Improving quality of farmed oysters Culture Methods Breeding Testing disease-resistant strains of oysters Improving safety of farmed oysters Quantifying the value of ecosystem services provided by oyster farms Evaluating the market for Gulf of Mexico farm-raised oysters Comparing diploid and triploid oyster performance
Guess Which One is Triploid
Regional Effort Coalition for Advancement of Southern Oyster Mariculture, CASOM Growers, dealers, seed suppliers, chefs, media, etc. http://casom.org/
Questions