RAW DEAL
January 5, 2010
The original article can be found at SeafoodBusiness.com
Oyster community rallies against FDA efforts to rein in raw oyster consumption
By James Wright
There are many ways to eat an oyster — smoked, fried, roasted, baked, boiled, broiled, stewed or steamed. Aficionados, though, believe less is more and want their half shells raw, with Mother Nature as chef de cuisine. The federal government, on the other hand, believes slurping raw shellfish is risky business and in October proposed that all oysters from the Gulf of Mexico undergo post-harvest processing (PHP) during the warmer months to kill the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, a naturally occurring organism that can cause serious — and potentially fatal — gastrointestinal illnesses. Essentially, the feds want to ban raw Gulf oysters for six to eight months a year.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration contends that mandating validated PHP methods would increase food safety, preventing foodborne illnesses and deaths: According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 15 deaths occur annually due to contaminated raw shellfish. The oyster community counters that part of its Southern cultural and culinary heritage is under attack and that current state-mandated health warnings — not to mention an established interstate shellfish monitoring system — are sufficient means of protection and that illnesses are unfortunate, but rare. When retailers, wholesalers, restaurateurs and even Congressmen voiced emotional opposition to the FDA’s proposal, the agency in mid-November sidestepped a firestorm of controversy and seemingly backed off its plans to institute mandated PHP for the 2011 oyster harvest.
Yet the possibility of the FDA cracking down hard on half shells is still very real — as are the fears of going out of business for many small, family-owned companies along the Gulf Coast, where nearly two-thirds of U.S. oysters are produced. But there’s more than oyster supplies and prices at stake: The freedom to choose and the role of government in consumers’ everyday lives are at the heart of this debate, which is sure to continue for months as the FDA assesses the feasibility and economics involved with implementing PHP controls, after which it is expected to push its agenda once again.
“It’s an FDA retrenchment, not a retreat,” says Mike Voisin, president of oyster processor Motivatit Seafoods in Houma, La. “They’re not backing off.”
A new approach
The controversy began on Oct. 17, when Michael Taylor, senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, addressed the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference (ISSC) in Manchester, N.H. Taylor stunned attendees by announcing that the agency would soon implement a new raw shellfish policy, voicing his disappointment that a targeted 60 percent reduction in Vibrio vulnificus-related illnesses had not been achieved in California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas.
“The time has come for a new approach,” Taylor argued, adding that the FDA would require oyster processors to employ one of four approved PHP techniques: high hydrostatic pressure, mild heat pasteurization, individual quick freezing (IQF) and low-dose gamma irradiation. “Seldom is the evidence on a food-safety problem and solution so unambiguous,” Taylor added.
Reaction to the FDA’s new get-tough stance was anything but ambivalent. During a Nov. 13 press conference with Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) with Louisiana and Florida oyster suppliers at his side, Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) said the proposal was excessive, like “trying to kill a gnat with a sledgehammer.” Oyster fishermen, wholesalers, restaurant operators and food lovers alike united in their outrage and set up online petitions such as SaveOurShellfish.org, hoping that a cascade of complaints would force the agency to scrap its idea. Thousands of signatures have been collected.
The interstate shellfish-safety network was also not impressed. ISSC Executive Board Chairman J. Michael Hickey wrote a letter on Nov. 2 to the FDA, saying he was “surprised, confused and very disappointed” by the agency’s about-face without the group’s input. The ISSC works collaboratively with shellfish-producing states as the primary monitor of water quality and molluscan shellfish safety, and has operated with a memorandum of understanding with the FDA since 1982. Saying the FDA was obligated to communicate with the ISSC before plotting a new policy course, Hickey contended that some states would likely choose not to enforce the federal policy, which could only harm efforts to curb shellfish-related illnesses.
The FDA’s proposal, to many in the oyster industry, was nothing short of betrayal at a time when fishermen and their families from Texas to Florida are struggling to survive, many of them lamenting poor landings from oyster habitats destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and Hurricane Ike in 2008.
“I’ve sat next to these people [at FDA] for 25 years, the last 10 when they’ve concurred with the actions of the ISSC,” says Voisin. “Just in September, they said only at-risk groups should be concerned. In October, they go way off the reservation. To wake up one morning and see the 180-degree turn … it’s still shocking to me.”
One billion served
The risks from eating raw oysters have been known for many years, and the FDA’s mandatory PHP proposal wouldn’t be the first drastic measure taken to prevent shellfish-related sicknesses. While even the healthiest person can become ill from eating an oyster contaminated with the Vibrio vulnificus or Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacteria, certain people with compromised immune systems — individuals with liver disease such as cirrhosis, chronic kidney disease, iron disorders or diabetes — are considered to be at an even greater risk of contracting the severe or fatal gastrointestinal illness known as vibriosis. Opponents of the FDA plan say the agency’s own research indicates that virtually all shellfish-related deaths happen to members of at-risk populations.
“It’d be putting a public health remedy on a private health problem,” says Voisin, who argues that the 15 deaths recorded annually from raw oyster consumption represent a tiny percentage of the roughly 1 billion raw oyster servings consumed in the United States each year. Voisin says FDA should educate consumers of the risks, much like they did when diabetes from excessive sugar consumption became a huge problem in the 1950s and numerous artificial sweetener options became available. “We didn’t ban the traditional product because an at-risk community could die as a result,” adds Voisin. “We said they mismanaged their personal health problem.”
It’s currently up to individual states whether to require restaurants to post warnings about the risks associated with raw oyster consumption on menus or on signs; the raw bar has long operated with an eat-at-your-own-risk policy, with even the most courageous diners aware of the old saw about only eating raw oysters during months with an “r” in it. Oyster suppliers say advancements in shellfish handling, refrigeration and distribution have made that aphorism more of an old wives’ tale rather than sage advice — although the FDA would beg to differ.
“We no longer believe that measures which reduce this hazard, but fall well short of eliminating it, such as improvements in refrigeration, are sufficient to meet the purpose of the regulation, given the severity of the hazard and the availability of post-harvest processing technologies,” Taylor said in his ISSC address.
Despite outcries from the industry, chefs and consumers, a ban on raw oysters during warmer months has some measure of support among special-interest channels. The Washington, D.C.-based Center for Science in the Public Interest in October listed oysters among the 10 “riskiest” foods that Americans eat and for years has lobbied for preventative measures. Using FDA data, CSPI identified 132 outbreaks from oyster consumption that resulted in 3,409 illnesses since 1990.
“The lives snuffed out prematurely by contaminated oysters should not be coldly dismissed by the shellfish industry or by their allies in Congress as the ‘cost of doing business,’” says CSPI senior staff attorney David Plunkett, decrying a bill titled The Gulf Oyster Protection Act, filed by Rep. Allen Boyd (D-Fla.) in response to the FDA proposal. “The industry has known for years how to prevent these deaths with readily available post-harvest processing techniques. Over 250 people have become ill and half of those have died since 2001, and if this industry-supported legislation passes, the toll of preventable death and disease caused by contaminated oysters will continue to rise.”
Kevin Begos, director of the Franklin County Oyster & Seafood Task Force in Apalachicola, Fla., says the CSPI has “no clue” about how the oyster industry works.
“It’s none of CSPI’s business to tell consumers what type of oysters they should choose. It’s incredibly arrogant of them,” Begos says. “There are people who choose to skydive, believing their parachutes will always open. I would never ride a motorcycle, but I don’t think we should ban them.”
With oysters, the FDA argues, one number speaks volumes: zero. Both FDA and CSPI are trumpeting the success of a 2003 California law that prohibited Gulf oysters from entering the state during summer months unless they had undergone some form of PHP treatment. Between 1991 and 2001, California recorded 40 deaths due to Vibrio vulnificus. Since 2003, no deaths have occurred, according to the FDA, a statistic that emboldened the agency in using California as a policy template.
A mom-and-pop industry
FDA’s primary duty is to promote safety and to eliminate food- and drug-related deaths. Its mandate is not to ensure the survival of shellfish businesses, which argue that mandatory PHP would destroy small companies, harm jobs and tourism and further slow the economy in an already struggling area. Before the FDA vowed to study the Gulf oyster industry’s ability to implement mandatory PHP systems and potential alternatives, something that ISSC demanded, Taylor estimated that 100 percent of production during the warmer months could be handled, far more than the 15 percent that he said currently undergoes treatment.
Oyster suppliers say that is a major miscalculation.
“That’s completely wrong; it’s a myth,” says Begos, adding that the region’s true PHP capacity is closer to 5 or 10 percent of production and that most plants shut down from May to September because they cannot adequately process less-meaty summer oysters. The Gulf Oyster Industry Council estimates PHP oysters account for less than 10 percent of overall production.
An FDA spokesperson told SeaFood Business that statements regarding its initial 100 percent estimate were “taken from industry assurances prior to the FDA’s announcement of its intention to make a policy change” and that the agency would work with ISSC, state regulators, the industry and others to better understand the challenges. Its assessment, which should be complete by the ISSC’s March board meeting, will delve into the costs associated with setting up processing technologies, which sources say are considerable.
After years of innovation and experimentation, Motivatit Seafoods developed a reliable system that kills Vibrio with 45,000 pounds per square inch of pressure and also shucks the oysters, which are then held together with a gold-colored band for distribution. But even a company as large as Motivatit, which is heavily invested in HPP and is considered a pioneer with the technology, processes only half its oysters. “Even we would be affected; it’s pretty significant,” Voisin says.
Some processors quick-freeze small portions of their total production, and only a few employ low-heat pasteurization (or a warm- and cold-water bath), as many buyers and consumers say the oyster meat can turn rubbery. Low-dose gamma irradiation, only recently approved by the FDA as a safe process, has not yet been proven to be economically feasible or market acceptable, says Voisin, whose company has completed trial batches of irradiated oysters with University of Florida researchers.
Sal Sunseri, VP of P&J Oyster Co., which has sold oysters from New Orleans’ historic French Quarter since 1876, says efforts to curb consumption of such a “healthy, culturally significant culinary delight” are “unjustified and unprecedented.” P&J doesn’t sell treated oysters and has never been tied to a vibriosis case, Sunseri says, adding that the vast majority of oysters from Louisiana are from “mom-and-pop” companies that can’t afford to make large investments in processing technology.
“The closest analogy is the egg industry, which has a similar matrix where [the FDA is] trying for a 60 percent reduction in illnesses, but those numbers are in the thousands of cases,” Sunseri says. “The focus should be on educating the at-risk group, not devastating a $350 million industry, one of the few No. 1 industries left in Louisiana.”
Standing in solidarity
A Gulf oyster ban may initially cause the most damage in the Gulf of Mexico, but oyster producers across the country are watching the developments with apprehension because they, too, fear what lengths the FDA will go to make the food supply safer.
“The FDA’s proposed ban has all of us from all three coasts extremely concerned,” says Robin Downey, executive director for the Pacific Shellfish Growers Association in Olympia, Wash. “It is our understanding that — just a couple of days prior to Michael Taylor’s announcement — they had intended to enforce this ban across all the country. We do not know why they backed off the East and West coasts at the last minute but we fully expect that if they are successful in making this go forward that we will be next.”
Even in far-removed regions like the Pacific Northwest and New England, the potential of a Gulf oyster ban resonates loudly — a similar bacteria, Vibrio paraehemolyticus, reaches further north, but is responsible for fewer illnesses. Bob Rheault, Ph.D., former owner of Moonstone Oysters in Wakefield, R.I., and the president of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association, admits a restricted Gulf oyster industry could have a negligible or even positive impact on his business. But he says oyster producers are “standing in solidarity” with their Gulf Coast brethren.
“We know if we let the FDA roll over them we are next,” says Rheault. “The FDA stated their official policy was to discourage the consumption of raw shellfish in 2004. They wanted to include Vibrio parahaemolyticus in this edict, but at the final hour thought better of it. The language they use virtually indicates that the breadth of this action will increase over time. When they do so it will be the end of the shellfish aquaculture industry as I know it.”
This month, the oyster industry will again air out its concerns in the Capitol during the National Fisheries Institute’s annual Walk on the Hill lobbying push, which culminates at its Let the World Be Your Oyster reception on Jan. 20. The hope is that one of several pieces of legislation countering mandatory PHP will make headway.
Jeff Tunks, chef-owner of several restaurants in Washington, D.C., including the New Orleans-style Acadiana, will host this year’s reception. An avid oyster lover and purchaser, Tunks says limits to raw oyster supplies from the Gulf would have an “unbelievably adverse affect on us serving oysters of any kind from anywhere.” Tunks pays 49 cents to $1.20 each for live, unprocessed oysters.
“They could be two, three times that,” says Tunks if PHP was mandated. “Who’s going to pay $45 to $50 for a dozen? That’s a lot of money.”
Few would argue that 15 deaths per year from oyster consumption is an acceptable number; even fewer would admit a zero-tolerance policy is possible. But oyster suppliers say they’re doing all they can to ensure consumer safety through education and technology improvements. What’s more, their product is safer than ever and if people want to eat them raw, as they’ve done for hundreds of years, then that’s their prerogative, not the federal government’s.
“For those 15 people and their families, it’s a big issue,” says Tunks. “But there are so many things out there, from raw spinach and scallions with salmonella and non-pasteurized eggs with E. coli — the list is long and if we have this reaction for everything we wouldn’t be able to serve anything.”
E-mail Associate Editor James Wright at jwright@divcom.com
January 2010
Showing posts with label oyster farming news. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oyster farming news. Show all posts
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Great Article About Our Buddies on the Eastern Shore
By Lorraine Eaton
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 4, 2009
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Parting Creek as "Pardon Creek" and Bayport as "Bayside."
WILLIS WHARF
A few weeks back, I met a new oyster.
This oyster lived in a curiously shaped shell, cupped on the bottom, level on the top, different from the flattish oysters I'm accustomed to slurping. The meat inside looked different, too - rounded and plumpish, not quite compact, but not as spread out as other oysters.
The cupped shape would make this a perfect oyster for shooting, I thought, but only if it delivered a satisfying oyster taste.
So I slurped one down - and it was like no oyster I'd eaten. The meat had a rich flavor, and the pool of salty, milky liquor delivered a sensation of the sea.
--------
The fishmonger said these bivalves hailed from Virginia's Eastern Shore and called them Hog Island oysters.
A few phone calls to state fisheries officials put me in touch with Pete Terry, owner of H.M. Terry Co. Terry is a third-generation waterman who raises infant oysters on a dock in Willis Wharf, about 25 miles up the Eastern Shore, then moves them to reach harvest size in Hog Island Bay.
On an early fall day, clear and warm, Terry stood at the edge of Parting Creek near his family's Willis Wharf clam house. He looked eastward past the landscape he thinks makes his oysters taste so good.
About a mile out, a low silhouette of trees separates the greenish water of Parting Creek from the bright blue sky. Beyond the trees flows the Machipongo River, which is fed by the salty expanse of Hog Island Bay. Two fingers of land - Hog Island and Cobb Island - are the only barriers between the bay and the endless Atlantic.
No one lives on this land. The craggy islands and waters on the Atlantic side of the Eastern Shore, from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to Chincoteague, are protected by a jigsaw puzzle of private organizations and government agencies and cannot be developed.
In addition, a tidal flow of four to five feet provides a "tremendous" flushing action in the deepwater creek, Terry said.
"This is the only place on the East Coast where there is no inland river impacting our water quality," he said. "Everything we have almost is fresh ocean water."
--------
Terry's grandfather harvested wild Eastern Shore oysters, canned them and sold them under the brand name Sewansecott. But a double scourge of diseases crippled the bivalve population, along with the once-storied reputation of Virginia oysters.
Today, the Sewansecott brand is stamped on boxes of oysters that get their start on this dock in Willis Wharf in a series of 44 narrow, rectangular tanks, each 16 feet long, each filled with plastic buckets lined up lip to lip. The operation seems simple, but there's a lot of biology and technology behind it.
Terry's partner in the oyster venture is Tom Gallivan, who studied aquaculture at the University of Maine and worked for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Standing on the dock, Gallivan explained that each bu cket holds tens of thousands of baby oyst ers. In his hand, they looked like tiny chips of pine bark.
A pump forces the Parting Creek water that Terry talked about into the tanks and buckets. The oysters feed on the algae and phytoplankton, and the water, cleaner still because of the oysters' filtration, flows back into the creek.
When the oysters grow large enough, Terry and Gallivan set them into mesh baskets and submerge them onto leased bottomlands on both sides of the Eastern Shore.
Terry's oysters are seasides that grow to harvest size in Hog Island Bay. Gallivan tends his "Nassawadox Salts" on a football-sized plot of leased bottomland on Nassawadox Creek near Bayport on the west ern side. A shucking house built in 1888 still stands at the creek's edge, attesting to the long tradition of oystering in this very spot.
The main difference between Terry's "seaside" Sewansecotts and Gallivan's "bayside" Nassawadox Salts is salinity. The baysides are about 22 parts salt per thousand, while the seasides are about 32.
--------
Later that day aboard the Oyster Queen, Gallivan's battered work boat, the partners pulled a basket out of the creek using an electric winch. The boat pitched to port side, and when the basket settled on the boat deck, it was covered in clots of seaweed and smelled like low tide.
Inside, it teemed with life. Sea squirts shot water, while tiny crabs skittered for cover and a few fish flopped out. But mostly, there were oysters, hundreds of shells sticking up this way and that, slathered in chocolate-colored mud, with the distinctive cup shape.
Gallivan explained that the shape is the result of several passes through a tumbler, where the "bill," or sharp outer edges of the oyster, is chipped off. The oysters go in the tumbler each time they are culled for size and moved into baskets with mesh walls with an increasingly wider weave. Altogether, the oysters take about two years to bring to market size.
Terry hosed down the oysters, and Gallivan picked one up and opened it with a pocketknife. It was almost as plump as a baby's cheek.
When the oysters reach market size, Terry and Gallivan hand-select them for packing. They are tumbled one last time and cleaned before going into 100-count boxes.
In Willis Wharf, you can buy a 100-count box of Sewansecotts or Nassawadox Salts for $35. On this side of the Chesapeake Bay, George's Seafood in Norfolk sells Sewansecotts for $50 a box. It's a premium price, considering that wild-caught Eastern Shore oysters are going for $40 a box. Welton's Seafood Markets in Norfolk's Ghent and at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront sell them for $8.99 a dozen.
Meanwhile, Terry and Gallivan are marketing the oysters in New York and around Raleigh, N.C. But they're catching on locally.
"I have a lot of people ordering them," said Rick Geers, co-owner of George's Seafood. "They're the most consistent oyster I've seen in all my years in the business. There's no thing better."
Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com
Check out the video that went along with the story.
The Virginian-Pilot
© November 4, 2009
Editor's note: An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to Parting Creek as "Pardon Creek" and Bayport as "Bayside."
WILLIS WHARF
A few weeks back, I met a new oyster.
This oyster lived in a curiously shaped shell, cupped on the bottom, level on the top, different from the flattish oysters I'm accustomed to slurping. The meat inside looked different, too - rounded and plumpish, not quite compact, but not as spread out as other oysters.
The cupped shape would make this a perfect oyster for shooting, I thought, but only if it delivered a satisfying oyster taste.
So I slurped one down - and it was like no oyster I'd eaten. The meat had a rich flavor, and the pool of salty, milky liquor delivered a sensation of the sea.
--------
The fishmonger said these bivalves hailed from Virginia's Eastern Shore and called them Hog Island oysters.
A few phone calls to state fisheries officials put me in touch with Pete Terry, owner of H.M. Terry Co. Terry is a third-generation waterman who raises infant oysters on a dock in Willis Wharf, about 25 miles up the Eastern Shore, then moves them to reach harvest size in Hog Island Bay.
On an early fall day, clear and warm, Terry stood at the edge of Parting Creek near his family's Willis Wharf clam house. He looked eastward past the landscape he thinks makes his oysters taste so good.
About a mile out, a low silhouette of trees separates the greenish water of Parting Creek from the bright blue sky. Beyond the trees flows the Machipongo River, which is fed by the salty expanse of Hog Island Bay. Two fingers of land - Hog Island and Cobb Island - are the only barriers between the bay and the endless Atlantic.
No one lives on this land. The craggy islands and waters on the Atlantic side of the Eastern Shore, from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to Chincoteague, are protected by a jigsaw puzzle of private organizations and government agencies and cannot be developed.
In addition, a tidal flow of four to five feet provides a "tremendous" flushing action in the deepwater creek, Terry said.
"This is the only place on the East Coast where there is no inland river impacting our water quality," he said. "Everything we have almost is fresh ocean water."
--------
Terry's grandfather harvested wild Eastern Shore oysters, canned them and sold them under the brand name Sewansecott. But a double scourge of diseases crippled the bivalve population, along with the once-storied reputation of Virginia oysters.
Today, the Sewansecott brand is stamped on boxes of oysters that get their start on this dock in Willis Wharf in a series of 44 narrow, rectangular tanks, each 16 feet long, each filled with plastic buckets lined up lip to lip. The operation seems simple, but there's a lot of biology and technology behind it.
Terry's partner in the oyster venture is Tom Gallivan, who studied aquaculture at the University of Maine and worked for the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.
Standing on the dock, Gallivan explained that each bu cket holds tens of thousands of baby oyst ers. In his hand, they looked like tiny chips of pine bark.
A pump forces the Parting Creek water that Terry talked about into the tanks and buckets. The oysters feed on the algae and phytoplankton, and the water, cleaner still because of the oysters' filtration, flows back into the creek.
When the oysters grow large enough, Terry and Gallivan set them into mesh baskets and submerge them onto leased bottomlands on both sides of the Eastern Shore.
Terry's oysters are seasides that grow to harvest size in Hog Island Bay. Gallivan tends his "Nassawadox Salts" on a football-sized plot of leased bottomland on Nassawadox Creek near Bayport on the west ern side. A shucking house built in 1888 still stands at the creek's edge, attesting to the long tradition of oystering in this very spot.
The main difference between Terry's "seaside" Sewansecotts and Gallivan's "bayside" Nassawadox Salts is salinity. The baysides are about 22 parts salt per thousand, while the seasides are about 32.
--------
Later that day aboard the Oyster Queen, Gallivan's battered work boat, the partners pulled a basket out of the creek using an electric winch. The boat pitched to port side, and when the basket settled on the boat deck, it was covered in clots of seaweed and smelled like low tide.
Inside, it teemed with life. Sea squirts shot water, while tiny crabs skittered for cover and a few fish flopped out. But mostly, there were oysters, hundreds of shells sticking up this way and that, slathered in chocolate-colored mud, with the distinctive cup shape.
Gallivan explained that the shape is the result of several passes through a tumbler, where the "bill," or sharp outer edges of the oyster, is chipped off. The oysters go in the tumbler each time they are culled for size and moved into baskets with mesh walls with an increasingly wider weave. Altogether, the oysters take about two years to bring to market size.
Terry hosed down the oysters, and Gallivan picked one up and opened it with a pocketknife. It was almost as plump as a baby's cheek.
When the oysters reach market size, Terry and Gallivan hand-select them for packing. They are tumbled one last time and cleaned before going into 100-count boxes.
In Willis Wharf, you can buy a 100-count box of Sewansecotts or Nassawadox Salts for $35. On this side of the Chesapeake Bay, George's Seafood in Norfolk sells Sewansecotts for $50 a box. It's a premium price, considering that wild-caught Eastern Shore oysters are going for $40 a box. Welton's Seafood Markets in Norfolk's Ghent and at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront sell them for $8.99 a dozen.
Meanwhile, Terry and Gallivan are marketing the oysters in New York and around Raleigh, N.C. But they're catching on locally.
"I have a lot of people ordering them," said Rick Geers, co-owner of George's Seafood. "They're the most consistent oyster I've seen in all my years in the business. There's no thing better."
Lorraine Eaton, (757) 446-2697, lorraine.eaton@pilotonline.com
Check out the video that went along with the story.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Virginia Oyster Aquaculture: Sea Grant Article
SOWING THE SEEDS
Spat-on shell and the future of Virginia oyster aquaculture
By Phil Marsosudiro with additional reporting by Margaret Pizer
Spat-on shell and the future of Virginia oyster aquaculture
By Phil Marsosudiro with additional reporting by Margaret Pizer
Virginia Marine Resource BulletinSpring 2009, Vol. 41, No. 1
It looks like a dirty baseball sitting under wet paper towels in a cooler, but it’s actually a bundle of live oyster larvae, some 20 million of them, purchased for $4,000. Michael Congrove—Remote Setting Extension Agent for the Virginia Seafood Council—lifts them out of the cooler and puts them gently into a bucket of clean seawater. He gives them a stir and waits, then pulls a few out and places them under his microscope to check their bellies (dark means they’re well-fed) and to make sure their gills are clear. If the larvae are healthy and they’re treated well for the next eighteen months, there’s a decent chance that they’ll turn into 600 bushels of oysters. Sell them at $25 a bushel, and that’s a $15,000 home run off a $4,000 baseball.
This is the dream of spat-on-shell oyster cultivation.
As aquaculture techniques go, spat-on-shell is not very complicated. You take a 10-foot diameter tank of water, drop in bags of old oyster shells, add a large batch of larvae, and wait a few days. If you’ve done it right, ten or so larvae will have settled and metamorphosed into tiny juvenile oysters (called spat) on each of the old shells, just like they would do in the wild. Then you take the bags of spat-on-shell and place them on leased bottoms in the open water. If all goes well, in about a year-and-a-half you’ll be harvesting full-grown oysters, ready for shucking.
“It’s almost like following a recipe,” says James Wesson, PhD, of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC). But he adds that if you want to make a living from it, you need three things: First, you need the proper ingredients; second, you need to work with care and skill; and third, you need an environment that will support your efforts.
The Proper Ingredients Virginia’s first experiments with spat-on-shell date back to the 1980s. But at the time, the pieces weren’t all there to make it work. “Disease was widespread, and we didn’t yet have a broodstock of disease-resistant oysters” that could grow to market size in sufficient quantities to justify the spat-on-shell effort, says Wesson. So Virginia had to put the idea aside while they worked on improving the broodstock.
“First, we’ve developed a disease-resistant oyster,” says Wesson. It isn’t immune to disease, but it can stay healthy long enough to get to market size, and that’s all that is needed. “Second, we’ve learned how to breed triploid oysters—sterile oysters that put all their energy into a fast growout, and none into breeding.” These improvements have put spat-on-shell back on the table and locked in the first key ingredients for a Virginia oyster revival.
“Right now, most of the shucked oysters that we ‘produce’ in Virginia are shipped in from the Gulf of Mexico and elsewhere,” says Wesson. They’re a more expensive and less reliable source. For flavor, for predictability, and for profit, “we want to produce oysters that are grown in Virginia, not just shucked in Virginia.”
Mastering the Technique
After Virginia developed better broodstock and a suitable technique for cultivation, the next step was to put spat-on-shell into practice. In 2005, a dozen oyster producers began working with VIMS, VMRC, and other partners to see how spat-on-shell would work for them. After three years of progress, they decided to cross the threshold from pilot projects into independent commercial production.
To help the producers make this transition happen, Virginia’s Fishery Resource Grant Program provided funds for Congrove to work with them intensively for one year. In 2008, Congrove helped each company run several sets of spat-on-shell production—from tank preparation to larvae-setting to planting the spat-on-shell in Virginia waters. With each set, commercial staff acquired more skill and sophistication with the technique, until the end of the year when all of the participating firms were ready to conduct spat-on-shell cultivation without help from Commonwealth staff.
“The collaboration really got us off the ground,” says A.J. Erskine of the Bevans Oyster Company. While he and his peers might have started spat-on-shell by themselves, Erskine says, “Our progress would have been much slower and would have cost much more. Because Virginia backed us up with technical and financial support, the opportunity was a lot more tangible.”
Rufus Ruark Jr. of the Shores and Ruark Seafood Company echoes Erskine’s comment: “We already knew about the technique because it had a long history elsewhere.” But for his own company? “Seeing is believing, and seeing how it did work (not just how it might work) was what everybody learned. I’ve learned a lot about the larval end of it. At first it felt like, ‘just put the larvae in with the shell? That’s not gonna do anything,’ But then we pull our shells up several days later, and lo and behold there’s fifteen oyster on it.”
“Once I see that I can make money off it, I’ll go off on it,” says Ruark. “But the Commonwealth setting us up with the program is a big help—a real deciding factor. And the continuing help that they give us is a big thing.”
To help the producers make this transition happen, Virginia’s Fishery Resource Grant Program provided funds for Congrove to work with them intensively for one year. In 2008, Congrove helped each company run several sets of spat-on-shell production—from tank preparation to larvae-setting to planting the spat-on-shell in Virginia waters. With each set, commercial staff acquired more skill and sophistication with the technique, until the end of the year when all of the participating firms were ready to conduct spat-on-shell cultivation without help from Commonwealth staff.
“The collaboration really got us off the ground,” says A.J. Erskine of the Bevans Oyster Company. While he and his peers might have started spat-on-shell by themselves, Erskine says, “Our progress would have been much slower and would have cost much more. Because Virginia backed us up with technical and financial support, the opportunity was a lot more tangible.”
Rufus Ruark Jr. of the Shores and Ruark Seafood Company echoes Erskine’s comment: “We already knew about the technique because it had a long history elsewhere.” But for his own company? “Seeing is believing, and seeing how it did work (not just how it might work) was what everybody learned. I’ve learned a lot about the larval end of it. At first it felt like, ‘just put the larvae in with the shell? That’s not gonna do anything,’ But then we pull our shells up several days later, and lo and behold there’s fifteen oyster on it.”
“Once I see that I can make money off it, I’ll go off on it,” says Ruark. “But the Commonwealth setting us up with the program is a big help—a real deciding factor. And the continuing help that they give us is a big thing.”
Supportive Environment
The final piece of the puzzle for Virginia oyster growers has been a supportive economic and regulatory environment that has helped encourage both small- and large-scale aquaculture efforts.
Although spat-on-shell aquaculture for shucked oysters is new, Virginia has more than a decade of experience in aquaculture for individual oysters that are sold on the half-shell market. Aquaculture for individual oysters is a much more labor-intensive and expensive process than spat-on-shell aquaculture. But the resulting product (which is sold in the shell, unshucked) can be sold for a much higher price.
Annual sales of Virginia-grown aquacultured oysters (half-shell and shucked) increased six-fold over the three-year period from 2005 to 2007. Several large commercial growers got in on the action—either adding aquaculture to shucking houses or starting new commercial aquaculture enterprises. Oyster hatcheries have also opened in several parts of the state, and the expanding Eastern Shore oyster aquaculture landscape now includes a major hatchery.
Oyster growers like Doug McMinn, who founded his Chesapeake Bay Oyster Company in 2003, say the motor behind the success of Virginia oyster aquaculture has been steady growth in the market for Chesapeake Bay oysters, the availability of local shucking houses, and the support of state institutions like VIMS that have helped develop the science to set oyster growers on the right track.
“I think part of why the [aquacultured] clams have done so well and why oyster farming now is doing well is because the state was in at the beginning to help come up with some of the technology but then the guys had to start putting down their own money and putting themselves on the line,” says McMinn. “They’re not going to walk away from the buck that they put down without a fight.”
McMinn thinks Virginia has reached the right public-private balance to foster growth in the oyster industry. “This state has a lot of private individuals who run hatcheries and do a really good job, and they’re willing to increase volume as the demand dictates.”
In addition to hatcheries, shucking houses are an important component of the supportive environment in Virginia. In other East Coast states, many shucking houses went out of business as natural oyster harvests declined in the second half of the twentieth century, but in Virginia, the shucking houses began trucking in oysters from the Gulf Coast and were able to stay afloat.
Now, as aquacultured oysters are on the rise, these shucking houses are a natural place for those oysters to go. “Because we have shucking houses around here, we automatically have another market” for individually grown oysters that might not be suitable for the half-shell market because of their size or quality, says McMinn. Those shucking houses are also a natural market for spat-on-shell oysters from Virginia, and many of them are getting into the spat-on-shell oyster cultivation business themselves.
Although spat-on-shell aquaculture for shucked oysters is new, Virginia has more than a decade of experience in aquaculture for individual oysters that are sold on the half-shell market. Aquaculture for individual oysters is a much more labor-intensive and expensive process than spat-on-shell aquaculture. But the resulting product (which is sold in the shell, unshucked) can be sold for a much higher price.
Annual sales of Virginia-grown aquacultured oysters (half-shell and shucked) increased six-fold over the three-year period from 2005 to 2007. Several large commercial growers got in on the action—either adding aquaculture to shucking houses or starting new commercial aquaculture enterprises. Oyster hatcheries have also opened in several parts of the state, and the expanding Eastern Shore oyster aquaculture landscape now includes a major hatchery.
Oyster growers like Doug McMinn, who founded his Chesapeake Bay Oyster Company in 2003, say the motor behind the success of Virginia oyster aquaculture has been steady growth in the market for Chesapeake Bay oysters, the availability of local shucking houses, and the support of state institutions like VIMS that have helped develop the science to set oyster growers on the right track.
“I think part of why the [aquacultured] clams have done so well and why oyster farming now is doing well is because the state was in at the beginning to help come up with some of the technology but then the guys had to start putting down their own money and putting themselves on the line,” says McMinn. “They’re not going to walk away from the buck that they put down without a fight.”
McMinn thinks Virginia has reached the right public-private balance to foster growth in the oyster industry. “This state has a lot of private individuals who run hatcheries and do a really good job, and they’re willing to increase volume as the demand dictates.”
In addition to hatcheries, shucking houses are an important component of the supportive environment in Virginia. In other East Coast states, many shucking houses went out of business as natural oyster harvests declined in the second half of the twentieth century, but in Virginia, the shucking houses began trucking in oysters from the Gulf Coast and were able to stay afloat.
Now, as aquacultured oysters are on the rise, these shucking houses are a natural place for those oysters to go. “Because we have shucking houses around here, we automatically have another market” for individually grown oysters that might not be suitable for the half-shell market because of their size or quality, says McMinn. Those shucking houses are also a natural market for spat-on-shell oysters from Virginia, and many of them are getting into the spat-on-shell oyster cultivation business themselves.
The Forecast
For all the progress they’ve made thus far, Virginia scientists and oyster producers are far from knowing that spat-on-shell will be a guaranteed success. Disease, pollution, weather-driven changes in salinity, and predation from the cownose ray remain as known risks or wildcards that could derail the potential of spat-on-shell production in Virginia.
Despite the uncertainties, commercial producers remain hopeful. “
We’ve already been working with some of the guys on better systems” for spat-on-shell, says McMinn. “The more we do to farm raise, whether it’s spat-on-shell, whether its cage, whatever you’re doing, it takes pressure off the wild stocks. I think spat-on-shell is going to be a great thing for restoration.”
At Kellum Seafood, Vice President Tommy Kellum says, “at this point, spat-on-shell is producing maybe 10,000 bushels a year for us. It’s certainly in a juvenile stage for us. But given the size of our leased acreage, we could get to a point where fifty to sixty percent of our oyster supply would come from spat-on-shell in five to eight years. With spat-on-shell, I can actually see us generating enough oysters to keep the plant running year round, with 100 people working.”
Rufus Ruark Jr. sums it up. “I think this is something everyone’s gonna be happy with.”
Despite the uncertainties, commercial producers remain hopeful. “
We’ve already been working with some of the guys on better systems” for spat-on-shell, says McMinn. “The more we do to farm raise, whether it’s spat-on-shell, whether its cage, whatever you’re doing, it takes pressure off the wild stocks. I think spat-on-shell is going to be a great thing for restoration.”
At Kellum Seafood, Vice President Tommy Kellum says, “at this point, spat-on-shell is producing maybe 10,000 bushels a year for us. It’s certainly in a juvenile stage for us. But given the size of our leased acreage, we could get to a point where fifty to sixty percent of our oyster supply would come from spat-on-shell in five to eight years. With spat-on-shell, I can actually see us generating enough oysters to keep the plant running year round, with 100 people working.”
Rufus Ruark Jr. sums it up. “I think this is something everyone’s gonna be happy with.”
Crediting Oysters for Helping Clean the Bay
The Commonwealth has a strong record of supporting the science and training needed to help oyster growers succeed. In the coming years, Virginia may also have the opportunity to provide incentives for both amateur oyster gardeners and commercial aquaculture operations based on the benefits oysters provide to the environment by filtering and cleaning Chesapeake Bay waters.
One simple incentive would be a tax credit for Virginia residents who grow oysters off of backyard docks or floats. In the 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly, a bill to establish such a credit was put forward by Senator Ralph S. Northam who represents District Six, including Accomack, Northampton, and Mathews Counties and parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk.
“If people get involved by putting an oyster float out, the next thing you know they might realize maybe they don’t need as much fertilizer on their lawn,” says Northam, arguing that an awareness of the nitrogen, phosphorous, and other pollutants that oysters help remove from the water would have cascading effects on the behavior of coastal residents. Although the bill had to be withdrawn due to this year’s budget crisis, Northam plans to reintroduce it in the future.
A second incentive would encourage large-scale oyster aquaculture by providing “nutrient credits” to oyster growers based directly on the pounds of nutrients removed from Bay waters.
One way to create monetary value for a credit is through nutrient trading. Nutrient trading is already on the books in Virginia. Passed by the state legislature in 2005 and slated to become mandatory in 2011, the system limits nitrogen and phosphorous output from point sources like wastewater treatment plants. Plants that exceed the limit can buy credits from others whose output is below it.
Point sources can also balance their emissions by buying nutrient offsets from point or non-point sources. The Department of Environmental Quality has approved several types of agricultural offsets. For example, farmers can generate offsets by reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizer or by leaving some of their land untilled.
A team of researchers, including Kurt Stephenson of Virginia Tech, Alex Miller at the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and Bonnie Brown and Colleen Higgins at VCU are researching ways that oyster growers could generate nutrient credits. Oysters remove nutrients from the water by filter feeding. When the oysters are harvested, the nutrients they’ve eaten and incorporated into their tissues are permanently removed from the water. Oysters also accelerate denitrification, which transforms nitrogen into a gas that is biologically unavailable.
Stephenson and Miller say that one major obstacle to incorporating oyster aquaculture into the nutrient trading system is the complicated science required to quantify how much nitrogen oysters remove—which can depend on the size of the oysters, where they are grown, and a variety of other factors. If these issues can be overcome, nutrient credits promise yet another source of support for commercial oyster aquaculture operations. Oyster growers like Jack White, owner of New Point Oyster Company, hope that Virginia will be able to include oysters in its nutrient trading system. “The time is ripe to recognize the role shellfish can play in cleaning up the Bay” and to make that recognition pay for oyster growers, says White.
One simple incentive would be a tax credit for Virginia residents who grow oysters off of backyard docks or floats. In the 2009 session of the Virginia General Assembly, a bill to establish such a credit was put forward by Senator Ralph S. Northam who represents District Six, including Accomack, Northampton, and Mathews Counties and parts of Virginia Beach and Norfolk.
“If people get involved by putting an oyster float out, the next thing you know they might realize maybe they don’t need as much fertilizer on their lawn,” says Northam, arguing that an awareness of the nitrogen, phosphorous, and other pollutants that oysters help remove from the water would have cascading effects on the behavior of coastal residents. Although the bill had to be withdrawn due to this year’s budget crisis, Northam plans to reintroduce it in the future.
A second incentive would encourage large-scale oyster aquaculture by providing “nutrient credits” to oyster growers based directly on the pounds of nutrients removed from Bay waters.
One way to create monetary value for a credit is through nutrient trading. Nutrient trading is already on the books in Virginia. Passed by the state legislature in 2005 and slated to become mandatory in 2011, the system limits nitrogen and phosphorous output from point sources like wastewater treatment plants. Plants that exceed the limit can buy credits from others whose output is below it.
Point sources can also balance their emissions by buying nutrient offsets from point or non-point sources. The Department of Environmental Quality has approved several types of agricultural offsets. For example, farmers can generate offsets by reducing the use of nitrogen fertilizer or by leaving some of their land untilled.
A team of researchers, including Kurt Stephenson of Virginia Tech, Alex Miller at the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission and Bonnie Brown and Colleen Higgins at VCU are researching ways that oyster growers could generate nutrient credits. Oysters remove nutrients from the water by filter feeding. When the oysters are harvested, the nutrients they’ve eaten and incorporated into their tissues are permanently removed from the water. Oysters also accelerate denitrification, which transforms nitrogen into a gas that is biologically unavailable.
Stephenson and Miller say that one major obstacle to incorporating oyster aquaculture into the nutrient trading system is the complicated science required to quantify how much nitrogen oysters remove—which can depend on the size of the oysters, where they are grown, and a variety of other factors. If these issues can be overcome, nutrient credits promise yet another source of support for commercial oyster aquaculture operations. Oyster growers like Jack White, owner of New Point Oyster Company, hope that Virginia will be able to include oysters in its nutrient trading system. “The time is ripe to recognize the role shellfish can play in cleaning up the Bay” and to make that recognition pay for oyster growers, says White.
A Practical Manual
A group of Virginia scientists and seafood companies collaborated to produce “A Practical Manual for Remote Setting in Virginia,” a booklet that outlines a step-by-step process for obtaining oyster larvae, getting them to set on shells, and growing them out to harvestable sizes.
The manual was written by Michael S. Congrove of W.E. Kellum Inc. and the Virginia Seafood Council, Dr. James A. Wesson of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and Dr. Standish K. Allen Jr. of VIMS with collaboration from ten Virginia seafood companies and funding from the Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program, which is administered by the VIMS Advisory Services department.
The ten seafood companies that participated in the project are Bevans Oyster Company, Cowart Seafood Corporation, J&W Seafood, Kellum Seafood, Mobjack Bay Seafood, Purcell’s Seafood, Sea Farms, Shore Seafood, Shores and Ruark Seafood, and Terry Brothers.
The manual is available for free online or for $10 in print. Go to http://web.vims.edu/adv/frg/ or email vsgpubs@vims.edu.
The manual was written by Michael S. Congrove of W.E. Kellum Inc. and the Virginia Seafood Council, Dr. James A. Wesson of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and Dr. Standish K. Allen Jr. of VIMS with collaboration from ten Virginia seafood companies and funding from the Virginia Fishery Resource Grant Program, which is administered by the VIMS Advisory Services department.
The ten seafood companies that participated in the project are Bevans Oyster Company, Cowart Seafood Corporation, J&W Seafood, Kellum Seafood, Mobjack Bay Seafood, Purcell’s Seafood, Sea Farms, Shore Seafood, Shores and Ruark Seafood, and Terry Brothers.
The manual is available for free online or for $10 in print. Go to http://web.vims.edu/adv/frg/ or email vsgpubs@vims.edu.
To see this article in its entirety click on this link Sowing The Seeds
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Maryland Opens Door for Shellfish Farming
We have been talking to folks from Maryland for years about doing what we do and only a handful have been able to get into the business because of some carzy laws in their state for leasing. Well, that is all going to change with the passing of the shellfish aquacultural bill as you will read below. So, if you want to grow clams or oysters in Maryland the door has just been opened, get going you still have time to get set up for this season.
MARYLAND GOVERNOR SIGNS NEW SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE BILL
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has signed into law a new ShellfishAquaculture Leasing bill (Senate Bill 271/House Bill 312) that revises leasing laws to make it easier for shellfish growers in the state. The bill stems from a visit the Governor made to shellfish aquaculture businesses last August and is another of Governor O'Malley's "Smart, Green and Growing" initiatives from the 2009 Legislative Assembly. At a press conference held after his visit to Great Eastern Chincoteague Oysters and Gordon's Shellfish, LLC, O'Malley said that he wanted a new aquaculture bill on his desk within 60 days. The State's Aquaculture Coordinating Council was asked to provide direction for the plan. Recommendations provided by that Council led to an administration bill that passed unanimously in both legislative houses this session. It is the first time in 103 years that the leasing laws of Maryland have been changed to encourage industry growth. "Expanding opportunities for shellfish aquaculture in Maryland waters is vital to the health and economic prosperity of the Chesapeake and coastal bays," said Governor O'Malley. "These changes will not only help restore important aquatic populations - like our native oyster - but also create jobs for Maryland's working families. "The new law gets rid of the classification of Natural Oyster Bars that have been off limits to leasing for the last century. They are replaced withPublic Shellfish areas that have been actively used during the past three years. Proponents of the new bill pointed out that most of the historical bars had long died out but that shell to create new oyster growing areas was still there and could be renovated by private industry. The bill should lead to thousands of new acres being available for lease. The bill gets rid of prohibitions on leasing in many county waters, mostly on the Eastern Shore, where oyster growing could be profitable. It continues leasing to residents but for the first time makes them available to nonresidents and corporations. It removes size restrictions on the amount of land that can be leased, and will replace former limits by mandating use and creating production standards that will be regularly reviewed to keep a lease active. Aquaculture Enterprise Zones, new areas that provide locations for surface and water column production, are authorized. These will have the State become the permit holder from federal agencies, subleasing plots to private growers. This will cut down the time consuming process for individuals to obtain permits, help spur private investment in leasing operations, and encourage commercial watermen to transition into aquaculture. Twenty-fivepercent of AEZs will be held for current watermen until 2011, in order to give them a chance to transition to aquaculture. The new bill gets rid of most old laws on shellfish aquaculture enacted during the past century. The Aquaculture Coordinating Council recommended that regulatory authority be granted to agencies for flexibility rather than relying on the passage of laws that had bogged down the previous leasing program. These changes will give commercial waterman, farmers and others the opportunity to farm shellfish, helping to revitalize Maryland's oyster industry and increase oyster and clam populations in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays. This law will help bring Maryland in line with states such as Virginia where the hard clam aquaculture industry is a $50 million business supporting several hundred jobs in mostly rural areas. "Today's bill signing signals the great potential for expanding aquafarming in a way that is smart, green and growing for our environment, our economy,and employment," said Agriculture Secretary Earl F. "Buddy" Hance. "Aquaculture businesses and watermen look forward to the creation of the enterprise zones and opening of bottom leases so that they can get to work farming shellfish in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and bringing Maryland's outstanding seafood products to market. " The Maryland Department of Agriculture has long supported aquaculture. Their Aquaculture Coordinator chairs the Aquaculture Review Board, formed by the legislative action in 2005 with members of agencies responsible for permitting meeting regularly for ensuring action on applications. The MDA also is home to the Aquaculture Coordinating Council which has created Best Management Practices, helped develop the Aquaculture Enterprise Zone concept, and aided in creating the recommendations that led to this new law.
Don Webster
Regional Extension Specialist
University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
Wye Research & Education Center
Queenstown MD
Work: 410-827-5377x127
Email: dwebster@umd.edu
WAY TO GO MARYLAND!!!
I can think of a few more states that may want to follow MD's example...DE,NC..., but we kinda like the fact other states haven't figured it out yet...more oysters and clams for the VA growers to sell.
MARYLAND GOVERNOR SIGNS NEW SHELLFISH AQUACULTURE BILL
Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley has signed into law a new ShellfishAquaculture Leasing bill (Senate Bill 271/House Bill 312) that revises leasing laws to make it easier for shellfish growers in the state. The bill stems from a visit the Governor made to shellfish aquaculture businesses last August and is another of Governor O'Malley's "Smart, Green and Growing" initiatives from the 2009 Legislative Assembly. At a press conference held after his visit to Great Eastern Chincoteague Oysters and Gordon's Shellfish, LLC, O'Malley said that he wanted a new aquaculture bill on his desk within 60 days. The State's Aquaculture Coordinating Council was asked to provide direction for the plan. Recommendations provided by that Council led to an administration bill that passed unanimously in both legislative houses this session. It is the first time in 103 years that the leasing laws of Maryland have been changed to encourage industry growth. "Expanding opportunities for shellfish aquaculture in Maryland waters is vital to the health and economic prosperity of the Chesapeake and coastal bays," said Governor O'Malley. "These changes will not only help restore important aquatic populations - like our native oyster - but also create jobs for Maryland's working families. "The new law gets rid of the classification of Natural Oyster Bars that have been off limits to leasing for the last century. They are replaced withPublic Shellfish areas that have been actively used during the past three years. Proponents of the new bill pointed out that most of the historical bars had long died out but that shell to create new oyster growing areas was still there and could be renovated by private industry. The bill should lead to thousands of new acres being available for lease. The bill gets rid of prohibitions on leasing in many county waters, mostly on the Eastern Shore, where oyster growing could be profitable. It continues leasing to residents but for the first time makes them available to nonresidents and corporations. It removes size restrictions on the amount of land that can be leased, and will replace former limits by mandating use and creating production standards that will be regularly reviewed to keep a lease active. Aquaculture Enterprise Zones, new areas that provide locations for surface and water column production, are authorized. These will have the State become the permit holder from federal agencies, subleasing plots to private growers. This will cut down the time consuming process for individuals to obtain permits, help spur private investment in leasing operations, and encourage commercial watermen to transition into aquaculture. Twenty-fivepercent of AEZs will be held for current watermen until 2011, in order to give them a chance to transition to aquaculture. The new bill gets rid of most old laws on shellfish aquaculture enacted during the past century. The Aquaculture Coordinating Council recommended that regulatory authority be granted to agencies for flexibility rather than relying on the passage of laws that had bogged down the previous leasing program. These changes will give commercial waterman, farmers and others the opportunity to farm shellfish, helping to revitalize Maryland's oyster industry and increase oyster and clam populations in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays. This law will help bring Maryland in line with states such as Virginia where the hard clam aquaculture industry is a $50 million business supporting several hundred jobs in mostly rural areas. "Today's bill signing signals the great potential for expanding aquafarming in a way that is smart, green and growing for our environment, our economy,and employment," said Agriculture Secretary Earl F. "Buddy" Hance. "Aquaculture businesses and watermen look forward to the creation of the enterprise zones and opening of bottom leases so that they can get to work farming shellfish in the Chesapeake and Coastal Bays and bringing Maryland's outstanding seafood products to market. " The Maryland Department of Agriculture has long supported aquaculture. Their Aquaculture Coordinator chairs the Aquaculture Review Board, formed by the legislative action in 2005 with members of agencies responsible for permitting meeting regularly for ensuring action on applications. The MDA also is home to the Aquaculture Coordinating Council which has created Best Management Practices, helped develop the Aquaculture Enterprise Zone concept, and aided in creating the recommendations that led to this new law.
Don Webster
Regional Extension Specialist
University of Maryland Cooperative Extension
Wye Research & Education Center
Queenstown MD
Work: 410-827-5377x127
Email: dwebster@umd.edu
WAY TO GO MARYLAND!!!
I can think of a few more states that may want to follow MD's example...DE,NC..., but we kinda like the fact other states haven't figured it out yet...more oysters and clams for the VA growers to sell.
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