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Marine Resources AKU-G-92-006 C3 Marine Resources MARINE ADVISORY: PROGRAM Vol. VII No. 4 UNIVERSITY Of ALASKA —BBftHWB OK—- December 1992 In This Issue: Growing Shemish in Alaska l0^' coPy,. "A/ ':•' Shellfish Aquaculture in Alaska: Its Promise and Constraints If you hope to succeed in the growing Alaskan shellfish industry, a good understanding of what is involved is required. Marine Advisory aquaculture specialist, Ray RaLonde, describes some of the history and the culture pro cess for a variety of species that are possible in Alaska 2 Aquatic Farm Permits Prior to 1988 aquatic farm permitting was a confusing and lengthy ordeal. Regulations were often unclear or non-existent. But with passage of the aquatic farm act, permit processing became formalized. However, for many people the process is still difficult to understand. Mariculture coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Jim Cochran, explains what you need to know to get started Commercial Oyster Farming: Part ofStudents Training In 1989 Petersburg high school instructor, Jack Eddy, conducted shellfish and plankton research in his area with the hopes of establishing a school aquaculture program. With the students involved from the beginning, a program was established with grant money. It has been so successful that it is now in the process of becoming a self-sustaining business with a scholar ship program Sea Farming Alaska Style Long time oyster farmer, Don Nickolson tells it like it is. Oyster farming in Alaska is not a retirement occupation. It involves long hours and resource fulness. But most of all he says it requires perseveranoe Is Aquatic Farming in Alaska for You? If you are considering shellfishaquaculture, this checklistcan help you determine whether aquatic farming is feasible for your particular situation. Even though a busi ness plan is not required by the state of Alaskato obtain an aquatic farming permit, it is well understood by persons doing well in aquaculture that one is necessary for success. This is a good place to start planning your business 10 Marine Advisory Program, Alaska Sea Grant College Program, Schoolof Fisheries and Ocean Sciences ShellfishAquaculture inAlaska Its promise and constraints by Raymond RaLonde Alaska's shellfish aquaculture industry has a relatively long and send a tissue sample to the DEC laboratory in Palmer, history beginning in 1910 with theintroduction ofthe Pacific Alaska fortesting. Thesamples mustpassthe testbefore shellfish oyster. Although distributed on intertidal beaches from Ketchikan can be shipped to market. Because of itsextremetoxicity, PSP Ls to Kachemak Bay, the oystersgrew best in southeasternAlaska. a major concern to the industry, but the perception thatit hin Theindustry continued until 1961, but production remained ders shellfish aquaculture is inaccurate. Over 10years of exten small peaking in 1943 with the sale of550 galloas ofoyster meat.' sive PSP monitoring of shellfish farms have resulted in very few failed tests. Shellfish culturestarted again in the late 1970swith reintroduc- tionof Pacific oysterspat (juvenile bivalveshellfish) into south- . The constraints to aquaculture may seem overwhelming, but east Alaska. This time the renewed industry cultured oysters for Alaska holds a major advantage not found in other states, supe rawconsumptionin the halfshellmarket. Restrained primarily riorwaterquality. Whileshellfish harvestareas around the by lack of capital and restrictive tidelands permitregulations, the UnitedStatesare seeing more restrictions and closures,Akiskan industry was confined to a few farms near Wrangell, Alaska. aquaculture isexpanding. Superiorwater qualityand stria sanitation standards now place Alaskan aquaculture products in In 1989, implementationand funding of Alaska Senate Bill 514 a very competitive position. revitalized the shellfishculture industry. New regulationsstream lined permit processing, agency coordination vastlyimproved, In Alaska, each species with aquaculture potential has special and changes in tidelandspermit regulations added more stability promises and constraints.Finding ways of dealing with the to the industry.The improvements in the permittingprocess constraintsand taking advantage ofthe promises are what will induced a surge in permit applications. By the end of 1992,72 ultimately determine the success or failure of each shellfish aquatic farms will be permitted to culture seaweed, clam, scallop, aquaculture venture. blue mussel, abalone, and sea urchin. Pacific oyster The new Alaskanshellfishfarmers have many challenges.To begin with, the state of Alaska does not allow importationof any Pacific oystersdo not reproduce in the cold waters of Alaska. As fish or shellfish into the stateother than Pacific oysterspat that a result, Alaskan oysterfarmers must buy oysterspat from a are less then 20 mm in length. In addition, oyster spat must be shellfish hatchery. Unfortunately, Alaska does not have a shellfish purchased from shellfish hatcheriesapproved by the Alaska hatchery so farmers are compelled to buy spat froman out of Departmentof Fishand Game. These importationrestrictions state hatchery. Reliance on outside sources of oysterspat places requireshellfish farms, culturingspecies other than Pacific oys farmers in a precarious positionbecause oysterhatcheries are ters,use only species nativeto Alaska. often reluctant to sellspat to Alaska. Unwillingness to sellspat is caused primarilyby low demand for spat, and the time and High operation cost is a major problem faced by the Alaska expense required by the hatchery to receive a disease free shellfish farmer. High transportation cost to ship equipment to certification fromthe stateof Alaska. Shellfish hatcherymanagers the farms and product to market is a major reason for the prob are quickto point out that theirfacilities produce millions of spat lem Asan example, increased production costs require Alaskan that sellwith little trouble to non-Alaskan farms. Despite these oysterfarmers to ask for $3-$4 comparedto $2-$3 fora dozen problemsand because of expected increasingdemand for spat, oysters culturedin the stateof Washingtoa Tough competition a few shellfish hatcherieshave receivedcertification and shipped from Pacificnorthwest oyster farms compels the Alaska farmer to spat into Alaska. However, this coming spring only one shellfish increase efficiency and cut production cost to succeed. hatchery willbe certified to ship oysterspat to Alaska. Presence of paralyticshellfishpoison toxin (PSP)affectsall Complicating the problem ofspat acquisition is the timing of bivalveshellfish cultured in Alaska. PSP is a naturally occurring when spat arriveat the farm. Ideally,oyster spat should start toxinfound inseveral speciesof microscopic dinoflagellate arriving in early spring to take advantage of the dense plankton algae. Shellfish consume the toxic algae and accumulate the blooms. During these bloom periods, oyster spat can double toxin in their intestinaltractsand tissues.The potential to concen their shell size iria few weeks, but delayed arrivalofspat, trate PSPtoxin requires shellfishcultured in Alaskato meet a caused by reliance on outside spat sources, may result in missing safetystandard of less than 80 mg of PSPtoxin per 100grams of the first spring growing seasoa This happened in 1992when tissue. To comply with these standards, the Departmentof spat shipments to many farms arrived in mid-summer. EnvironmentalConservation (DEC)requires PSPscreening of culture bivalves before marketing. The screening process re Alaska is an outstanding place for Pacificoyster culture. Although quiresthat a farmerharvestshellfish, place them in cold storage, native to warmer waters, it is an attractivespecies for aquaculture in Alaska because itgrows very well in cold water providing phous into theiradult form. Theoretically, a musselfarmercan there is abundant, high quality plankton. Many estuaries in collect spat by simply deploying, at the properlocation and time, Alaskaproduce so much high quality plankton during bloom a material that larvaprefer to set on. Hemp or coconut ropes are periods that they can match the growth achieved in warmer good materials. After the metamorphosis occurs,the spat are waters of the Pacific northwest Cold, dean water also reduces transplantedto the farm where they grow to market size.The bacteriacontamination extending shelf-life and assuringsafetyof process may seem easy, but the farmer may need to modifythe Alaska culturedoysters,especiallyoysterseaten raw. technique to get a good set of mussel spat Pacific oysters, grown in warmer waters, reach sexual maturation Mussel larvagenerallyset during the summer. Spatare readyfor during their second summer oflife,causing them to become soft transfer to culturegear during the fell or spring following the set and milkycolored. These characteristics make oystersunmarket The farmerremovesspat from the gear and packs them into a able. In Alaska, because cold water temperature retardsmatura net mesh tube,calleda mussel sock.The spat filled mussel sock tion, high quality oysters are available during the summer. High is hung froma raftor buoy untilthe musselsreach marketsize. quality, summer oysters allow farmers to market their product In Alaska, blue musselsgrow from spat to a market size of two when there is less competition which can result in a higher price. to three inches in about one year. Blue mussel A major constraint for culturing blue mussels is the labor re quired to fill the mussel socks, and to harvest and process mus Native populationsof
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