Problem
There is a long history of shellfish farming around the world. The ancient Romans cultured oysters, Native Americans on the Pacific Northwest raised clams, and muscle culture is over seven centuries old in Europe. There have been sustained increases in bivalve production over the decades and shellfish will continue to be a major component of global aquaculture production.
Increasingly, oysters have attracted the attention of aquaculturists, ecologists, and coastal managers as an efficient method to increase seafood production and employment in the fishing industry, as well as benefit the local ecosystems and clean up estuarine waters.
Oysters are a premium seafood, are filter-feeders that don't require the expense of additional food, are low on the food chain and require little care; and like other shellfish, achieve a high level of production unmatched by other farmed animals on land or in water. Oysters also filter plankton and excess nutrients, clearing the waters and producing food at the same time.
Culturing oysters and other shellfish also presents problems associated with wildlife interactions, genetic pollution, competition with wild harvest, the introduction of invasive and non-native species, impacts on benthic habitat, conflict with other fisheries and existing marine uses, and changes to supply, demand, and existing markets.
The video Oysters and Towns explains how oyster farming can be used to remove nitrogen pollution from coastal waters and support local fisheries in Cape Cod. Three different methods for growing oysters are compared to help towns select the most cost-effective and environmentally-responsible strategy for restoring water quality through aquaculture along their coastlines (Floating bags, Mid-water bags, Bottom cages).
This will help you focus on examples of specific cultivated species and locations, production methods, management and threats to local resources, project compatibility and potential impacts, and analysis of your Course Project for submission to the Atlas.
Review the video Links to an external site.Oysters and Towns, lecture (Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration), and textbook materials to generate a list of the following:
A. As a Fact Sheet, three methods of culturing oysters in an estuary, and list the advantages/disadvantages of each method (visibility, ease of operation, fouling organisms, licensing and permitting, etc.)
B. In a paper, research and list possible issues among neighbors or local authorities that might arise by starting a farm at your proposed location Also list features of oyster biology that can be illustrated to address and mitigate some of those issues, like trade-offs about how they might affect water quality.
a. List approvals from regulatory agencies and permits that might be required for a proposed project.
b. Analyze how oysters could be incorporated into an open or semi-enclosed aquaculture system and how they would contribute to the efficiency of the system, as well as increase profits. Justify the use of oysters at the system, and how their use may be a solution to local or regional harvest and production issues.
c. Finally, from what you have learned; (a) answer in your opinion (and justify) the question: "Can oysters save the world, and if so, how? What are the limitations to this claim?"