Large Scale Ocean Farming

[nornrich]

I am looking for sources of information in regards to the feasibility of aquaculture of certain species of shellfish. I don't know if this question would be better off on the Agricultural forum, but I thought I would give this forum a shot. Richard Nornhold, PE
nornrich@redrose.net

 

[marvinmots]

The best R&D in this area is conducted at Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) at William and Mary College in Virginia. I went to a presentation recently and was impressed. Although the industry is much more active in China and Japan, VIMS probably is doing more R&D than anywhere else. What is your particular interest?
Marvin

 

[nornrich]

Marvin,

I didn't know if my question was relavant to this category and had almost forgotten that I had posted it. I am aware of some of the large scale ocean farming projects in China and Japan. Specifically the farm raising of Blue Fin Tuna. My question stems from childhood memories of crabbing on the Chesapeake Bay with my Grandfather in the 70's. In a morning you could easily bring in a bushel basket of Chesapeake Bay Blue Point Crabs. In the years since then the Bay has been over harvested and the average price per bushel has gone from $15-$25 to $150-$180 during the peak season. My question is can crabs be farm raised? They have a unique life cycle requiring different levels of salinity during their maturation. If you could farm raise crabs, not only would it be a good business venture, but it would also eliviate the pressure on the naturual population. Any ideas if work is being done in this area or possible resources that could be used as a guide?

Thanks,
Rich.... Richard Nornhold, PE
nornrich@redrose.net

 

[marvinmots]

Of course crabs can be farm raised. I am not in this field but explored it in 1982 when the U of California reported success at its Bodaga Bay research station with lobster farming, they were using pelletized grain and had to add a sterol compound only found in fish or else the lobster would not finish molting. You need to review the parameters but it certainly can be done. The Virginia research people are resettling shellfish in protected waters. There is a strong legal component here (getting protected marine area to carry out the work) that I might help out in (Im a lawyer) if the expected payoff were there. I suspect that the biological requirements needed for your project are much higher than other aquaculture (monitoring and control of salinity come to mind) but that they can be overcome with innovative (and patentable: I am a patent attorney too) methods. If you review everything needed from a biological perspective and write a business plan I would be happy to review from the viewpoint of a biologist as well as someone who has some experience dealing with investors.
Marvin