Scallop growth trial update - October 2013

On Oct 30, 2013 Chris Vonderweidt (ME DMR) and I visited Kevin Scott at the Salt Pond site, and Marsden in Stonington. With us were Bill Trotter and Gabor Degre of the Bangor Daily News; they took a bunch of photos/video and Bill put together a nice piece from the day, viewable at:

http://bangordailynews.com/slideshow/cages-in-maine-pilot-program-could-be-first-step-toward-farmed-scallops/

Scallops continue to do well at both sites, and we still see effects of density happening too: there is a lot of growth sideways (Shell Width) and the shells are standing taller too (Shell Depth).  We have started to collect a little data on the Shell Height/Shell Width ratio to capture this, but there's not much to report on there yet.  Attached is a graph that summarizes growth at the three sites over time. This might be useful as we home in on the right times of year to do thinning: looking for the times when the growth curve starts to deflect downward. On the other hand, we've handled scallops more frequently that would likely occur in a production setting, and to that end, I could see how our growth might be slower, because of the added handling stress.

At Marsden's site, the Aquatrays got nailed with a pretty decent barnacle set, including the scallops inside the cages, though the shellfish bags seemed to avoid this more or less...unclear as to why that was.  Mortality at both sites was near zero.

As you'll see from the chart below, I made an error in restocking the low-density cages out in Stonington, so that will throw results off a bit, but at least we know about it....the density should have been lower.

Roe development was pretty good at both sites; it seemed that in Blue Hill there was less resorption or spawning - gonads seemed fuller, but still decent at both sites.  Bummed that I didn't get any good shots of this, but Bill Trotter also has a Tumblr site, and there are some shots there..

http://billtrotter.tumblr.com/

Shell Heights and growth rates:

                                 BlueHillLOW   BlueHillHIGH   StonLOW  StonHIGH
Prior average (mm)   52.1                 49.3                    64.43          56.1
Current Average        67.48               60.83                  70.59          62.1
#days                        180                   180                     98               98
Difference                 15.38               11.53                  6.16            6.0
growth/day (mm)      0.0854             0.0641                0.0629        0.0612
prior stocking            47                    94                       24               80
current stocking        24                    66                       29               60


Biotoxin samples were taken from both sites.  So far, all samples tested have been clean for PSP, more data to come on presence/absence of DSP and ASP. 

This is the growth since first cages were stocked in 2012. You can see the effect of site, and the differences between the low-density group (30% bottom coverage) and the high-density group (60% bottom coverage)

Here's a nice set of scallops from the Blue Hill Salt Pond site (Evan Young and Kevin Scott); smooth shells indicate low stress.

Two year classes on the Sand Island site (Marsden Brewer); the difference in shell size is due to one year's growth. Pretty encouraging.

Seaweed Scene 2013

Readers of this blog will have seen some details of the recent work to transfer the technology of seaweed cultivation to shellfish growers in Maine, and to help the networking process for people and organizations excited about the opportunities for seaweed production in the region.  This project was funded by the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, and truth be told, it's been one of the most fun, informative and rewarding projects I've worked on, in my 15 years with Maine Sea Grant.  Fright, dismay and wonder aside at being 15 years in the same job, I'm pretty proud of our work in this vein, and am looking forward to future developments. 

A full room at the Hutchinson Center for the Seaweed Scene 2013

It is clear that there is huge enthusiasm about seaweed.  Players like Ocean Approved and VitaminSea Seaweed have brought new energy to an industry that has its own long and interesting history, with groups like Maine Coast Sea Vegetables, Maine Seaweed, North American Kelp, Source Inc. and a few others.  This mix of new and established companies has fueled a vibrant discussion in recent years, and that excitement has spread to a wide group of other enthusiasts.

The Seaweed Scene sprang out of these observations as a way to bring people together - simply to get them in the same room, to have a chance to hear what's going on around the region, and really just to network.  With so much being new, the timing was good for encouraging the face-to-face time, and let the seeds sprout where they may. 

Charlie Yarish, Sarah Redmond, and Shep Erhardt

We held our first Seaweed Scene last year, and the SS '13 was the second in what we hope will be a continuing effort. About 115 people filled up the big meeting room at UMaine's Hutchinson Center in Belfast, and we had a full day program of research and activity updates, free time to talk, a needs-assessment session, and even a how-to session in the evening, taught by Paul Dobbins and Bill Flahive of Ocean Approved, and Dr. Charles Yarish of UConn - probably the guy most responsible for transferring seaweed cultivation expertise to people here in the Northeast and possibly the US.

As of this writing, Sarah Redmond, Beth Bisson and I are compiling presentations, notes and other information to be delivered to the Maine Sea Grant website, and you can expect more details to posted there in the near future:

http://www.seagrant.umaine.edu/seaweed/seaweed-scene-2013

...and don't let me forget to thank colleagues at ME SG for their help and expertise: Kathy Villarreal, Lynn Wardwell, and Ron Beard, who guided us so skillfully through the day. 

For now though, seaweed producers and others are taking some really important and exciting steps, and it sure has been fun to be a participant.  More to follow, no doubt, and perhaps even seaweed coming to a coastline near you.

Larch Hanson (Maine Seaweed) and David Myslabodski (Great Sea Vegetables) and probably 80 years experience between them. 

Isabelle Gendon-Lemieux (Merinov, Quebec CA), Emilie Gouhier (Univ. of Caen, France) and Carter Newell (Pemaquid Mussel Company) compare notes. 

Seth Barker and Sarah Redmond review their progress during the MAIC project and follow-ups - they have grown some wonderful-looking and delicious dulse over the past year.  Looking forward to more!

Charlie Yarish, together with Paul Dobbins and Bill Flahive (both from Ocean Approved) put on a great workshop on kelp production after the Seaweed Scene. Here they are demonstrating how to generate spores from reproductive kelp plants.  A manual on kelp farming is nearing completion and will be available soon.

April 8, 2013
Okay - so we've got this pilot project in scallop aquaculture and it's moving along nicely. Two Friday's ago I made a run up to visit with Marsden Brewer, and to check on the scallops at his site.  I was blown away by how fast the scallops are growing, and how clean the cages were.  Short story - the scallops grew about 20mm between October of 2012 and late March 2013.  Since I'd been wanting to mess around with iMovie, this was my chance to be a director.  Enjoy the little film below - music courtesy of my brother-in-law, Harry Pike.  We are both available for movie- and musical direction, so I'll expect Hollywood to be ringing. Here you go: