Oyster farming
Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century BC on the Italian peninsula[1][2] and later in Britain for export to Rome.
[3] Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century BC on the Italian peninsula.
After obtaining the rights to a part of the coast he built a wall to make a reservoir and to break the strength of the current.
Some time later the wall was covered with spat coming spontaneously from the sea which gave 2000 baby oysters per square metre.
When farmed, the temperature and salinity of the water are controlled (or at least monitored), so as to induce spawning and fertilization, as well as to speed the rate of maturation – which can take several years.
All of the oysters in an area will spawn at the same time to increase the chances that their gametes meet and fertile larvae are produced.
After the fertilized eggs and beginning-stage larvae have been added to the tank, they should be fed filtered or cultured algae daily, and have their water changed every-other day.
This ensures no pathogens or foreign organisms enter the system and compete with or eat the larvae, and their water quality stays pristine to encourage growth.
In the second method the spat or seed may be put in racks, bags, or cages (or they may be glued in threes to vertical ropes) which are held above the bottom.
The maturation tank may be fed with water that has been especially prepared for the purpose of accelerating the growth rate of the oysters.
During the nineteenth century in the United States, various shallow draft sailboat designs were developed for oystering in Chesapeake Bay.
Since 1977, several boat builders in Brittany have built specialized amphibious vehicles for use in the area's mussel and oyster farming industries.
[15] Production of land-based protein sources can be detrimental to the earth environment as they generate a significant amount of greenhouse gases.
The oysters themselves do not produce any methane, one of the most potent greenhouse gases, and just a very minimal amount of nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide.
[16][17] Restoration of oyster populations is encouraged for the ecosystem services they provide, including water quality maintenance, shoreline protection and sediment stabilization, nutrient cycling and sequestration, and habitat for other organisms.
[22] The Chesapeake Bay Foundation started working in conjunction with the Smithsonian Institution in 2022 to revive the oyster population that was disrupted due to the poor health of the water quality.
[25] Supporters of Delaware's legislation to allow aquaculture cite: revenue, job creation, and nutrient cycling as the benefits.
[24] This is extremely beneficial to the marine ecosystem because the oysters feed on particulate matter and nitrogen, often from anthropogenic sources.
The particulate matter oysters remove are sand, clay, silt, detritus, and phytoplankton.
[28] These particulates all could possibly contain harmful contamination that originates from anthropogenic sources (the land or directly flowing into the body of water).
[29] Instead of becoming ingested by other filter feeders that are then digested by bigger organisms, oysters can sequester these possibly harmful pollutants, and excrete them into the sediment at the bottom of waterways.
[30] More recently, large-scale cultivation of oysters and other shellfish has been proposed as a method to combat climate change, because the growth of the oyster shell sequesters atmospheric carbon dioxide in a form (calcium carbonate) that is stable over geologic time.
[37] Applications and permits for aquaculture projects such as the Avalon Ocean Farm are made public and required to follow the same guidelines of the EPA and the CWA.
Pathogens that can affect either farmed C. virginica or C. gigas oysters include Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) and Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX).
[39] Dermo disease is caused by a protozoan parasite that infects the oyster's blood cells: Perkinsus marinus.
