Shellfish Mortality Workshop

1
Shellfish Mortality Workshop

• Sponsored by the
• Centre for Shellfish Research and the B.C.
  Shellfish Growers Association
• October 16, 2003

2
Shellfish Aquaculture Mortality Workshop

• Identified an industry need - research
• Unexplained shellfish mortality events negatively
  effecting industry
• RD workshop held- same objectives as today
• Bring producers and scientists together
• Develop key research questions
• Develop collaborative research partnerships
• Fish bones as a frame work for needs assessment
• Key questions identified no priorities attached

3
Workshop format

• Industry presentations
• Scientific presentations
• Round-tables industry and scientist working
  groups
• (Oysters, mussels, clams, scallops)
• Fish-bones Needs analysis

4
Fish Bones

• An informal collaborative process to determine
  the potential causes of mortality
• Split into interest-based working groups
• Nominate a recorder with good hand-writing to
  draw the fish
• Student audio recorder
• Everyone must contribute
• Time 1 hour
• Final session review of each working group

5
Fish bones Drilling down through the husbandry
process

• Head identify mortality issue e.g. tray culture
  oyster mortality
• Skeleton identify elements of culture process
  (e.g. seed sorting, year 1 on-grow, grading,
  tumbling, year 2 on-grow)
• Ribs identify main factors affecting each stage
  of culture process (e.g. grading seed)
• Riblets (level 1) identify factors affecting
  each of the main factors (hand grading, machine
  grading)
• Riblets (level 2) - identify factors affecting
  each of the Level 1Riblets (e.g. duration of air
  exposure during the grading process)
• Discuss potential causes of mortality and Circle
  those factors of highest priority for research
• Formulate a research question (s)

6
Culture induced mortality
Tray culture Oyster mortality
Seed delivery
on-grow winter
grading/ tumbling
On-grow summer
Seed grading
Nature induced mortality
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Tray culture oyster mortality
Grading mechanism
Culture induced
Speed
hand
experience
machine
Inventory validation
duration
Inventory control
Seed grading
Seed delivery
Water temp
Air temp
HABs
Duration exposure before grading
Duration exposure after grading
predators
Nature induced
salinity
D.O.
8
Culture induced mortality
Density
Genetics
Ploidy
Tray-type
De-fouling schedule
Year-1 On-grow
Bio-fouling
parasites
nutrition
HABs
Nature induced mortality
predators
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Research Question What is the effect of of air
temperature and exposure interval on survival?
Culture induced mortality
Grading mechanism
hand
experience
Tray culture Oysters mortality
machine
duration
Seed delivery
on-grow winter
grading/ tumbling
On-grow summer
Seed grading
Water temp
Air temp
Duration exposure before grading
Duration exposure after grading
salinity
Nature induced mortality
D.O.
10
Shellfish Mortality Workshop Oyster Research
Questions

• Effect of tumbling duration, frequency
  timing/seasonality effects on survival, growth,
  shelf-life
• Effect of putting damaged/dying oysters back into
  rearing containers
• Background water quality monitoring for
  correlation/coincidence with survival/growth
• Fouling management practices for
  prevention/reduction
• BMPs for seed production, seed quality
  assessment standards
• Genetics/bloodstock management BMPs (tracking)

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Shellfish Mortality Workshop Clam Research
Questions

• (manilas and geoducks)
• Genetics brood stock
• Health- product from hatchery and monitoring
  algae
• Growth increase rate
• Mortality factors, increase survival, husbandry
  tools
• Regulations management systems
• Optimum seed size cost to survival ratio

12
Shellfish Mortality Workshop Scallop Research
Questions

• Identify phytoplankton species
• Establish phytoplankton monitoring
• Culture species and determine physiological
  response/toxicity at various life stages
• Size of phytoplankton ingested by various life
  stages
• Determine conditions (temperature, food
  concentration) for holding young spat (over
  winter)
• Improved environmental monitoring (temperature,
  salinity, food, current)

13
Shellfish Mortality Workshop Mussel Research
Questions

• Which is the best species for B.C. (i.e. gallos,
  edulis) and is it site related?
• Evaluate genetic composition of seed available
• Develop a site characterization and success
  evaluation (framework) consider technology
  evaluation within this assessment
• What is the spawning trigger and can it be
  prevented?
• Does winter spawning cause mortality?
• When is the best time and what is the best size
  to put mussels into trays?
• Fouling management practices avoid fouling
  especially barnacles. Is sinking an option?
  When, how deep, site variation (temporal, spatial)

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Conclusion

• Process worked
• Great lists
• No priorities
• Need to go further (Phase 2)
• One over-arching issue the need to conduct
  environmental and health monitoring at regular
  intervals

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Goal

• To develop and test a workable, effective and
  repeatable workshop template for RD priority
  setting
• Apply process knowledge gained in Brainstorming
  workshop and Mortality workshop to this process