BC Shellfish Growers Association

Update August 6th – If people are wondering how to report a spill, here is an easy to remember number – and if you click on the image below, it links to a PDF file which you can then print out.

Two separate potential environmental disasters have recently occurred in the vicinity of Okeover Inlet (Grace Harbour – July 28th and Rosetta Rock – July 14th).  The photos below tell nearly the whole story!  These two events have been of high concern to the shellfish farming industry for two reasons – (1) the threat to farmed shellfish as a result of pollution from diesel spillage or other contaminants, and (2) the poorly executed communication to the BC shellfish industry on behalf of the agencies responsible for dealing with these events.  The BCSGA is now working towards creating better emergency response and communication plans with various Government agencies… stay tuned.  Photos courtesy of Don Carto – C-King Enterprises.

Fisheries and Oceans Canada Science has produced a very interesting article showing how bivalve (specifically Mussles) aquaculture boosts local biodiversity.  This work is similar to what Dr Penny Barnes was doing a few years ago here in BC, but this is more broad scale.  A great feature article from DFO.  Click here to read the original on the DFO website.  Below is the quoted text from the article.

—————

The next time you sit down to a steaming bowl of mussels cooked in a savoury broth of wine and garlic, just think — the mussel farm where they were grown could be increasing the productivity and biodiversity of its local environment.

The commercial farming of mussels, oysters, scallops and other bivalves on Canada’s east and west coasts has increased in recent decades to meet rising consumer demand. As with other forms of aquaculture, this growth has led to concerns about its impact on the environment and vice versa. Until recently, research has largely focused on the effect of organic waste from mussel farms on small organisms that live in the seabed and on the production carrying capacity of sites for mussel culture. Recent research on bivalve aquaculture led by Dr. Christopher McKindsey of DFO’s Maurice Lamontagne Institute is exploring the issue from a different angle that has led to some very interesting findings and a more holistic view of aquaculture-environment interactions. (more…)

Hot off the hard-drive.  Our latest BCSGA Quarterly – Tidelines Newsletter.  Inside this issue, you will enjoy reading about some new federal funding announcements, a proposal for a new Harmful Algae Monitoring Program, a wrap-up of the shellfish festival season, two interesting submissions on patenting and compliance, and a few other goodies and news bits.  Enjoy… click the image below to download the PDF.

Missed the print deadline, but we just received an update recent (July 27th) photo of the Centre for Shellfish Research Deep Bay Field Station – progress is looking good – concrete footings are being poured this week.

Update – July 28th.  Some very interesting data coming in from Pendrell.  An Oyster spawn has certainly occurred over the past few days with this hot heat, and it is looking like it will be a great set over the next week or so… click here for the data.

To some of you, this may seem that our industry has come full circle.  The fact is that our industry is today dependent on commercial shellfish hatcheries that deliver shellfish seed or larvae to producers to then grow-out.  However, given the challenges that various shellfish hatcheries are encountering over the past few years producing seed, not to mention the challenges with developing hatchery capacity in BC, there is a new push recently for renewed monitoring of the Pendrell Sound wild Oyster Spatfall.

Therefore, last week a group of BCSGA member farmers held a two-day workshop (with funding assistance from Pacific Region ACRDP) to learn sampling protocol, along with sample analysis technique to identify and predict the spatfall.  This way, growers will be able to time their effort to set substrate to collect the spatfall.  In addition, this is a learning experience for us all, and as growers we are much more in tune with oceanographic conditions overall.

Below is a photo from July 2nd – Hugh MacDonald (Okeover grower) is setting a plankton tow in Pendrell.

For more information, a new page has been created on the BCGSA website: http://www.bcsga.ca/industry-resources/pendrell

Also, the data that Hugh is collecting is being shared as well… click here.

Updated July 24th – the above photo was supplied by Dr Gary Borstad and is provided as a sample to show you the possibilities of satellite imagery to monitor blooms.  Image was taken July 17th and it shows the Heterosigma bloom (described below).  The attached image shows extremely high chlorophyll concentrations in the south end of Okeover Inlet as red and white colours.  Other coloured areas on the north side of Savory and the south end of Hernando Island are due to submerged benthic algae.  Preliminary map made from the MERIS water colour sensor on the European ENVISAT satellite.

David Cassis (UBC Earth & Ocean Sciences) has been working with the BCSGA for years now on providing critical information relating to both beneficial and harmful algae blooms (HAB).  Currently, David is assisting the growers in Okeover Inlet to set up a remote industry-driven HAB monitoring program.  Stay tuned for more on the development of this project, but meanwhile there is some breaking news out of Okeover from this recent sampling.  Below is David’s email to Okeover growers this morning:

Heterosigma akashiwo is to be producing a large bloom in (Okeover) Inlet. It looks like patches and streaks of brown reddish water.  Here is a link with some information and photos http://www.liv.ac.uk/hab/Data%20sheets/h_akas.htm

Heterosigma is one of the main harmful algae in BC.  It normally forms blooms when the water reaches a low salinity (14-20 ppt) and relatively high temperatures (14-18 C).  It supposedly produces hydrogen peroxide, an irritant that can cause massive mortalities of farmed salmon.  It can also kill other marine life when concentrated in an area; as the bloom dies, bacteria eat the algae and use up all the oxygen, killing everything in enclosed bays or areas with little water circulation.

Juvenile oysters show a strong rejection of this alga when trying to feed.  Adult oysters just “clam up” when exposed to high abundances of this alga.  As the oysters smaller than 24-28mm in shell length don’t have their food selection mechanisms fully developed, this algae could be sometimes eaten.  The irritant chemical then produces damages in the oyster’s digestive system that can lead to higher levels of stress and mortalities.  The mortalities normally happen after the bloom peaks.  For this reason, don’t introduce small seed while Heterosigma is in the water.

Follow-up note: David is excellent at working with industry and providing useful information.  Click here to view another archived post from the BCSGA website from June 9th, 2008 on phytoplankton Chaetoceros convolutus.

20 years sales.  10 acres, beach/suspended culture.  Great growth, PSP history, weather protection.  Retiring. Consider owner financing.  rodgerpainter@hotmail.com.

Campbell River, BC – Entrepreneurs involved in BC’s aquaculture sector are receiving additional federal funding to help them innovate their operations, boost their productivity and improve their economic performance.  Today, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Gail Shea announced that six BC businesses will receive more than $930,000 in federal funding to help them strengthen their businesses.

Click here for the official Newswire Press Release.

Amongst the six BC aquaculture industry projects announced today were two associated with the BC Shellfish industry.  The first is a project by Odyssey Shellfish Ltd to import a fully automated oyster grading machine from Australia, and to modify the equipment to the specifications and needs of the Stellar Bay Processing Plant in Bowser, BC.  This new technology will benefit the BC shellfish processing industry by improving oyster grading standards, product consistency, and quality assurance, and thereby increase profitability.  In the photo below is Keith Reid of Odyssey Shellfish describing his project and making thanks to Minister Shea and the AIMAP funding program.

The second AIMAP-funded project relating to BC shellfish is the BCSGA’s own Mechanical Clam Harvester project.  Annually, BC shellfish farmers harvest over 1,600 metric tonnes of Manila clams by hand-digging.  The mechanization of shellfish farming can increase efficiencies and reduce costs for the industry.  The BCSGA received funding to import and modify (according to local conditions and needs), and produce a second-generation design that will be made available to BC shellfish companies.  In the photo below, Roberta Stevenson (BCSGA Executive Director) accepts the funding with thanks to Minister Shea and the AIMAP funding program.

On July 4th, our great old friend and respected lover of all things from the sea (shellfish especially), Brian Stevenson was commemorated with a permanent memorial at his home port of Heriot Bay, Quadra Isle.  A beautiful piece of woodwork, and a fitting legacy for such a great Waterman.  Brian Stevenson, RIP.  Stay tuned for more details in the upcoming BCSGA Tidelines Newsletter (Brian had a lifetime subscription, so so should you).