IAAI SPRING MEETING. Indiana Aquaculture Association Newsletter. Contents. Page 1. IAAI Spring Meeting

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1 Indiana Aquaculture Association Newsletter 2016 Issue 1 12 day old Oyster Larvae IAAI SPRING MEETING Contents On February 13, 2016 the Indiana Aquaculture Association hosted their annual Spring Meeting in Cortland, Indiana. The group of 27 individuals gathered at the Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department. Glynn Barber, the IAAI president, opened the meeting by welcoming everyone and then called the business meeting to order. There was a brief update by Bob Rode on the February 10 th Shrimp Workshop, a short discussion on recent industry news, and board elections. There are a few changes in the board. Phil Shambach is our newly elected president and Amy Stinton is now secretary. Glynn Barber, our former president, and Karlanea Brown, our former secretary, will be staying on as members at large. The rest of the board will remain the same. The 2016 officers are Phil Shambach (president), Lyle Andry (vice president), Mike Searcy (treasure), and Amy Stinton (secretary). The 2016 board members at large are Glynn Barber, Darryl Brown, Karlanea Brown, Joseph Cleveland, John Richardson, and Bob Rode. You can learn more about our board on page 6 and 7. The meeting was adjourned. There were a lot of great talks throughout the morning. Topics included recirculating systems, bioplanning, marketing, processing, and food hubs. There has been a bit of discussion lately on processing in Indiana so hearing what Dr. Angela Caporelli had to say about Kentucky s mobile processing unit was interesting. Just as a heads up, the IAAI will be following up on the topic of processing in Indiana very soon through an campaign to add to the surveys that were completed at the spring meeting. Please take the time to complete the survey when you receive it. Page 1-2 IAAI Spring Meeting Page 3-4 Tech Talk: Oyster Culture Page 5 Marine Shrimp Workshop Summary Page 6 & 7 Meet the 2016 IAAI Board of Directors Page 8-10 Feature Farm: East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery Page 11 Up Coming Events Photographs: Meeting attendees waiting for presentations to begin at the Hamilton Township Volunteer Fire Department (left). Dr Quagraine, Dr Caporelli, and Mr. Ballard fielding questions for the panel discussion (right). Page 1

2 IAAI SPRING MEETING After a morning of presentations and a delicious lunch of Indiana grown trout special guest speakers Dr. Kwamena Quagrainie, Roy Ballard, and Dr. Angela Caporelli sat on a panel. This gave the group the opportunity to ask questions and interact with the speakers. The final presenter of the day was Mike Searcy, of White Creek Farms of Indiana. He wrapped up the day with newbies corner, where he showed us how he built his own radioflow settling tanks. After his presentation the group went to his farm for a tour and we had the chance to see his working homemade settling tanks along with much much more. Overall the day was good. We learned a little, networked, ate great food, and watched fish being feed. What more can you ask for? Photographs: White Creek Farms of Indiana (bottom left), Mike Searcy, owner of White Creek Farms of Indiana, giving a tour of the hatchery (bottom right), Mike dimenstrating his mort. retriever equiped with a under water camera (top left), and Matt, Phil, Darryl and Bob examining Mike's farmmade settling tanks. The IAAI wants to thank Bob Rode, Phil Shambach, Kwamena Quagrainie, Roy Ballard, Angela Caporelli, and Mike Searcy for taking the time to present at the meeting. A special thanks goes out to Mike Searcy, for opening the doors of his farm to us. We would also like to thank all of the attendees and sponsors for a great day. Page 2

3 Oyster Culture I decided to broaden our scope on this edition and focus on oysters. I know we don't have any oyster production in Indiana, but we didn t always have marine shrimp either. Oysters are a unique aquaculture species because nature does so much of the work for you. Many people have pointed out that raising oysters is more like gardening than farming. Oysters are also an important commercial aquaculture species. In 2012, there were 33,087,000 lbs harvested (15,008 metric tons) which had a value of $193,071,000. Therefore, the average value of the oysters was $5.83 per pound. Check out the NOAA statistics here. The majority of the oysters harvested in the US are eastern oysters(crassostrea virginica). Eastern oysters are protandric hermaphrodites meaning that they begin life as a male and usually become females later in their life cycle. Oysters spawn by releasing their gametes (eggs and sperm) into the water column where they hopefully contact each other and fertilization occurs. After fertilization the cells begin to divide and soon become a free floating oyster larvae, which eventually gains marginal motility. After about two weeks the oyster larvae develop a foot like a snail. The oyster at this point settles to the bottom and can crawl around on its foot until it finds a suitable surface to attach. Oysters often attach to or set on other oyster shell. After the oyster attaches, it is now considered oyster spat. Oysters can reach sexual maturity in their first year. The eastern oysters reach market size in approximately 2-3 years depending on nutrient availability and growing conditions. The oyster secretes a mucous out of its palps that it uses to trap floating algae from the water that it filters. It then uses its tentacles (much like cilia) to move the mucous and algae which is now called a bolus to its mouth. The abductor muscles are used to close the shell of the oyster. The shell is actually designed such that it opens when the muscle is relaxed, that is why shells are often open when found empty on the beach. The oyster consists of one very cupped shell (lower) and a flatter shell (upper). If you store an oyster in a cool, moist place, you can keep it alive for more than two weeks. This is also a nice thing about culturing oysters. Imagine being able to leave your fish or shrimp out of the water for even hours while you grade or move them. The culture of oysters has been dated back to ancient Rome. Oyster culture has gained publicity in the United States in recent years for its economic, cultural, and environmental importance along with declining wild catch. Since oysters are removing nutrients from the natural water in the bay or estuary that they are in, they are positively impacting the environment. We all strive to reduce the environmental impact of our farms, but oyster farming actually has a positive environmental impact. According to the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery website, an oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water each day, and Dr. Michelle Rice from the University of Rhode Island states that 3,750 oysters can eliminate the nitrogenous waste from one human each year. The wild harvest of oysters has declined rapidly since Poor water quality and loss of habitat are the main culprits. To meet the demand for oysters, as with all fisheries species, it seems to be up to aquaculture to fill the need in some form. With oysters that can be the direct culture of the oyster for the oyster market, or population support by hatchery production and restoration. In the past few months I have seen a few articles about oyster gardening which is what sparked the idea for this article. Oyster farming or gardening is something that can be done with a small capital investment compared to other aquaculture endeavors. There are also minimal barriers to the market because selling oysters live is the market preference, the oysters can be transported and held out of water for days with no problem, and there is not a requirement to have a large quantity of oysters to be able to get into the market. Page 3

4 Oyster Culture There are a few different production techniques with different pros and cons. I will cover all three of them to give examples of some of the production considerations for oysters. The next more intensive culture method is to place the oysters in bags and either allow them to sit on the bottom or place the bags in racks that hold them over the bottom. These can even be placed at a level that allows the bags to be exposed to the air at low tide. Allowing the bags to be exposed to the air kills a lot of the biofouling that can contain the organisms that cause the imperfection on the shells, or cover the oysters and consume all of the nutrients and reduce the oxygen available. The bags can also be pulled off of the bottom and allowed to air dry to kill the biofouling. The most proven method is to allow the shells to dry every two weeks to keep the biofouling under control. When the bags are in the tidal zone, ice is a consideration in the winter along with bad weather. The least labor intensive and cheapest method is to simply broadcast the juvenile oysters into the water to settle on the bottom. The oysters are simply left to grow on their own with no labor required until harvest. Some of the cons to this method are that if the bottom is not solid the oysters may get silted over and killed. Storms can increase the risk of silting. There is also an increased risk of biofouling because there is not a chance for the oysters to be exposed to the air to kill the biofouling. The shells can get covered with boring sponge (Cliona spp.) and other things that may not hurt the oyster itself, but decrease its value due to the imperfections on the shell, and there is also an increase risk of parasites and disease. Site selection is particularly important with this method because of the need for a solid bottom. The last method I will talk about is to float the oysters in rafts. With this method the oysters are submerged at the optimum depth for feeding and rise and fall with the tide. To allow the shells to air dry, you simply flip the raft over so that the floats are on the bottom and the oysters are up out of the water. The rafts are all tethered to either the bottom or a structure that keeps them in place. In the event of heavy weather, the caps on the floats are simply removed and the floats fill with water and the oysters are sunk to the bottom, but they are still held up off of the bottom because they are resting on top of the floats. This is the most labor intensive method of oyster farming, but also the highest yielding. -Phil Shambach Page 4

5 Marine Shrimp Workshop Summary Bob Rode On February 10, 2016 the Indiana Soybean Alliance hosted a workshop on marine shrimp sponsored by the Indiana Aquaculture Association and organized by the Purdue Aquaculture Extension team. Impedes for the meeting was feedback from the first meeting of Indiana shrimp producers held in 2014 which was sponsored by the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. Producers felt they needed more information on rearing practices and so organizers brought in specialists to not only cover rearing practices but also environmental controls in shrimp buildings as well as marketing and economics. The workshop was for both existing producers and interested parties alike. The interest in shrimp rearing is very high at the moment based on registration for the workshop. Registration was capped at 70 due to room capacity and was closed weeks prior to the workshop. It was estimated that an additional persons would of like to attend as well. During the morning session, two shrimp specialist spoke on their experience and research on biofloc rearing systems for marine shrimp. Dr. Andrew Ray from Kentucky State University spoke on his experience with biofloc systems at both the University of Southern Mississippi and Kentucky State. Dr. Tzachi Samocha formerly of Texas A&M, presented his research findings from work with biofloc systems in greenhouses. Much of the discussion was on best management practices for biofloc and water quality in these systems. In the afternoon, Dr. Al Heber from Purdue University spoke on building considerations when working with a species like shrimp that creates a very warm, moist environment. Although directly related to new construction, it was also essential that rehabbed farm buildings will generally need an upgraded infrastructure. Dr. Kwamena Quagrainie (KK) and Dr. Samocha talked on marketing and economics of shrimp operations, specifically what is most critical in making the operation successful. The last session of the afternoon was an open Q&A period with all the speakers on a panel where participants could ask questions on any and all topics. Some of the topics discussed included building design, effluent/ solids removal, shrimp genetics and supply of post-larval shrimp. The powerpoint presentations from the various talks are to be posted at both the IAAI and ISA websites. There are at least two follow-up projects that may be developed as a result of this workshop. Dr. Heber and I would like to develop some fact sheets concerning building parameters to make shrimp and fish buildings more efficient and increase the longevity of these buildings. Additionally, I will be setting up a shrimp list-serve where interested parties can have a forum to discuss issues and items of interest can be posted. Page 5

6 Indiana Aquaculture Association Officers and Board of Directors Meet the 2016 IAAI Board of Directors President: Phil Shambach Phil Shambach is an owner and the operator of TIPPCO FISH, INC., a recirculating aquaculture farm producing Tilapia in Romney, Indiana. Phil has a B.S. in Biology from Ball State University and a Master of Aquaculture degree from Auburn University. Phil has been working with Tilapia in intensive RAS since 2002, and has worked at TIPPCO since Phil has served as an Industry Advisor for Northeast Regional Aquaculture Center (NRAC). Vice President: Lyle Andry Lyle is the owner and operator of Andry s Fish Farm. Andry s Fish Farm is one of the largest sport and baitfish suppliers in the mid-west supplying sport fish, bait fish, and ornamentals for pond stocking. After working at a sport and bait fish farm in high school, Lyle founded Andry s Fish Farm in Lyle also serves as industry advisor for the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NCRAC). Secretary: Amy Stinton Amy is currently working for RDM Aquaculture. Amy has a Biology degree from Ball State and a Marine Science Technology and Science and Mathematics degrees from the College of the Redwoods. She has been working in the aquaculture industry in Indiana since Amy also serves as an industry advisor for the North Central Regional Aquaculture Center (NCRAC). Treasure: Mike Searcy Mike is the owner/operator of White Creek Farms of Indiana, LLC which is a Rainbow Trout farm near Cortland, Indiana. Mike's education and work experience is in Quality Management and Packaging Technology in the Pharmaceutical Industry with several years in the U.S. Navy as a weapons specialist. Board Member: Glynn Barber Glynn is the inventor of Environmental Controlled Sustainable Integrated Agricultural or ECSIA, a process to produce organic fruits and vegetables utilizing fish affluent in a zero waste system. He is a dedicated and highly motivated supporter of sustainable food production systems. Glynn holds the office of Vice President of Agricultural Research & Development for Fog Free Technologies, LLC. Board Member: Darryl Brown Darryl is also an owner and CEO of RDM Aquaculture. Darryl has a agriculture degree in Animal Sciences from Purdue University. Darryl wears many hats from owning a construction operation, operating an ornamental plant nursery, crop farming, manufacturing shrimp equipment, and shrimp farming. Darryl is very knowledgeable in the heterotrophic system and how the equipment works to make for a better environment for the shrimp. He is continuously researching and looking for a better way to raise the shrimp. He designed the system RDM uses. He is dedicated to improving the shrimp industry. Page 6

7 Indiana Aquaculture Association Officers and Board of Directors Board Member: Karlanea Brown Karlanea is an co-owner and vice president of RDM Aquaculture. RDM supplies equipment, juvenile shrimp, and consulting to shrimp farms. Karlanea is the shrimp diva of the operation. She has a degree in fashion from Indiana Business College and a degree in CAD from Ivy Tech. Karlanea has four and half years of experience in the RAS and heterotrophic systems. Karlanea oversees the water quality laboratory and marketing. Board Member: Joseph Cleveland Joseph Cleveland is the Vice President of Ozark Fisheries. Ozark Fisheries is family owned and operated farm that raises goldfish, koi and commercial Angus cattle. Joseph was raised on the family farm in Missouri. He spent every free moment working alongside his father and other employees on both sides of the business starting back when he was just old enough to operate a riding lawn mower. Joseph went to college for project permitting, and construction oversight. John holds a B.S. in Wildlife Management and Biology from the University of Wisconsin, Stevens Point, and an M.S. in Biology (Aquatic emphasis) from Tennessee Technological University where he studied the distribution, abundance and community structure of freshwater mussels on the Big South Fork of the Cumberland River in Tennessee. His hobbies include multiple attempts at aquaculture, hiking, and paddling. Board Member: Robert Rode Currently Bob is the manager of the Aquaculture Research Lab of Purdue University in W. Lafayette, Indiana. The majority of Bob s job entails management of the lab s indoor and pond facilities for aquatics research. Bob also has an extension appointment and tries to have demonstration projects of relevance to producers and interested parties in the Midwest. Bob has a varied background working for both the public and private sector. Bob was the pond manager at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff s research facility, worked on a catfish farm in California and a marine finfish hatchery in New Hampshire. He was an aquaculture volunteer with the Peace Corps in Thailand. He has a BS in Wildlife Management from the University of Maine and a MS in Aquaculture from Auburn University in Alabama. Board Member: John Richardson John is a field biologist who has worked for Cardno JFNew (formerly JF New and Associates) for the last 20 years learning and practicing the art and science of wetland, lakes, and stream restoration. He is responsible for diagnostic, feasibility, and design studies, as well as construction management of water quality improvement projects. He conducts biological sampling, landowner and agency negotiations, project design, Page 7

8 FEATURE FARM The town of East Hampton is on the south fork of the eastern tip of Long Island, New York. East Hampton is an affluent town of just over 20,000 residents. Shellfish are an important part of the town s culture and economics both as a commercial and recreational fishery. In 1985, brown tide first appeared in the waters around East Hampton and decimated the shellfish population. To aid in the recovery and health of the industry, East Hampton launched the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery in The mission of the hatchery is three-fold: to enhance the commercial and recreational molluscan shellfishery, education, and research and experimentation. The majority of the funding for the hatchery comes from the town. The hatchery produces a detailed report of their yearly operation. You can see last year's report here. Recently the hatchery revealed plans to launch an oyster gardening program that will provide participants with seed oysters, expertise, and growing space. In return, the hatchery will get 1/2 of the oysters from the first year s growth to use in stock enhancement. I got the chance to interview John Barley Dunne about the East Hampton Town Shellfish Hatchery. Barley was a classmate of mine at Auburn University where he earned a Master of Science degree in Aquaculture. Barley started working at the hatchery in 2004, and has been Director of Aquaculture since The hatchery produces hard clams (Mercenaria mercinaria), eastern oysters (Cassostrea virginica), and bay scallops (Argopecten irradiates). The hatchery is operated by three full-time employees, including the director and three part-time employees. Starting in January and continuing through February, brood stock cohorts are conditioned over an 8-week period. During this process brood stock are held in a tank where the temperature is maintained at about 16 degrees C (60 degrees F). The oysters are fed a continuous supply of in-house grown microalgae (Tahitian Isochrysis, Pavlova lutheri, and Tetraselmis sp.). The algae is a food source and serves to get the oysters in the best physical condition possible for spawning. There are several other species of algae grown at the hatchery for the other shellfish that are being produced. To keep a pure culture, the algae are produced in small batches and then used to inoculate larger tanks in both a climate controlled growing room and a greenhouse. Mass Algae Culture Barley maintaining algae During the conditioning process the conditioning tank is cleaned and the water is exchanged 3 times each week. The conditioning is a particularly crucial and sensitive process. As conditioning progresses, the oysters are becoming ripe and ready to spawn. If is critical to keep the temperature and food flow rates steady in order to avoid spawning in the brook stock tanks. Once conditioning is finished, the oysters are placed into a shallow spawning tank. The sex of each oyster can not be determined visually, so up to 30 individuals are conditioned for one spawn to ensure the desired male:female ratio. Oysters are protandric hermaphrodites, which means that they begin their life as males and usual turn to females. When brood stock are introduced into the spawning tank, the water temperature is slowly rated to about 26 degrees C (79 degrees F). The rise Page 8

9 Conditioning Tank in temperature stimulates spawning. If extra stimulation is needed, the staff will put frozen sperm from a previous spawn into the water to stimulate the oysters to spawn. The frozen sperm is no longer viable, but its presence in the water helps initiate the spawn. Once spawning begins, the shallow water allows them to see the gametes as they are released into the water. When released, the sperm looks like smoke from a chimney and the eggs come out in puffs. The eggs are visible with the naked eye, and measure about 25 microns. Once spawning begins it lasts for about an hour. Each spawning of 30 oysters produces hundreds of millions of larvae, but by the time the oysters are ready to set the oysters larvae will be culled down to 10 million. The fertilized eggs are kept in the spawning tank for a couple of hours while the cell division is monitored. They are then placed into 100 gallon conical tanks. Everyday after the conical tanks are stocked, the larvae are fed. Three times per week the water is exchanged in the tanks and the larvae are graded. At this point the larvae are planktonic, meaning that for the most part they are free floating and have limited motility. After about two weeks the larvae develop an eyespot and a foot that is used to move around on the bottom to find suitable place to set, and are called eyed oyster larvae. Oysters will set on about any hard surface, but oyster shell is one of the best substrates. To get the larvae to set at the hatchery, the larvae are put into a downwelling tanks that have a fine mesh screen on the bottom to keep the larvae in the downweller. Before the larvae are stocked in the downwelling tanks, oyster cultch is placed in the bottom of the tanks. Oyster cultch is ground up oyster shell. The size of the cultch is important, because you want the cultch particles to be big enough that the oyster will set on it, but still small enough FEATURE FARM 100 Gallon Conical Tanks that you do not get more than one oyster setting on a particle. The oyster cultch is sieved to get the best size range of particle. By doing this the oysters will be single oysters, which are both easier to work with and the most valued by the market. Once the larvae has set on cultch it is considered spat. About a week after the oyster larvae are placed in the downwelling tanks, they are size graded and moved to ambient water (water straight from the bay) upwelling tanks. At this point the spat are about 1-3 mm in size. The ambient upwelling tanks are usually stocked in April. At this time the ambient water is much too cold for growth so they will go dormant until water warms, which is usually May. Once growth commences oysters are graded weekly until July when they will have reached about mm. The oysters are then moved out to the floating grow systems. The grow systems are floating cages that hold bags that are filled with oysters. The Spawning Tank Cell Division a few hours after spawn Downwelling Tanks Juvenile Oysters in Downwelling Tank Page 9

10 FEATURE FARM Floating Oyster Cage bags are made of different size mesh depending on the size of the oyster. Predation is a concern and the mesh bags are sized to keep the predators from the oysters. Juvenile oysters are placed into bags and placed in the floating oyster cages. The floating cages can either Juvenile Oysters Work Barge Broadcasting Oysters Barge with Hand Sieves submerge the oysters just below the surface of the water and under the floats, or the cage can be flipped over so that the floats are under the cage and the cage is held up out of the water. This is us so that the air drying and sun can dry and kill the biofouling on the oysters. The process at the hatchery is to grade the oysters every other week, so the oysters and bags are removed and cleaned at that time. The oysters are graded into size ranges using hand-made floating sieves for the smaller oysters. For the larger oysters, a mechanical rotary sieve is used. All of the grading, cleaning, and restocking of oysters is done on a barge that is basically a floating dock anchored out in the bay. The equipment needed is also stored on the barge. The boat used to deploy and retrieve the oysters from the cages has an apparatus that allows the staff to pull the whole floating cage up out of the water, Oysters from Floating Cages After Grading remove bags for grading and replace them with bags that have recently graded oysters in them. Once the oysters are proper size for seeding (starting in August) they are broadcast into several areas for growth to harvest size and to be taken by commercial or recreational oystermen. -Phil Shambach Page 10

11 UP COMING EVENTS Aquaculture and Fisheries Technologies for Food and Health Educators, Seafood Professionals, and Communicators Great Lakes Regional Seafood Workshop University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education Conference Center 161 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 9-12, 2016 Workshop goals: Workshop attendees receiving seafood quality and safety training will increase their technical knowledge and understanding of important global, national, regional and local issues and developments related to seafood safety and human health. Who should attend: Food technologists, dieticians, nutritionists, extension agents (home economics, fisheries, aquaculture, seafood technology, and food safety) and seafood industry professionals (producers, processors, seafood buyers, distributors, and retail management. Students, journalists, restaurant managers, and others interested in the seafood industry are also welcomed. Because of tour limitations and seafood handling and preparation logistics, registration will be limited to 50 attendees. What you will learn: The workshop will provide information on current issues, developments and trends for fishery and aquaculture industries and products. Program content covers technical aspects of seafood health and safety from water to table. Seafood products from wild caught and aquaculture sources will be discussed from the following perspectives: nutrition, benefits and risks, food safety, quality and handling, harvest and production methods, processing, HACCP, sourcing, distribution and marketing. In addition to national issues, the program will also address topics of regional and local interest. Formats will include classroom lectures/seminars, demonstrations and local tours of facilities that support the seafood industry. Where: University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee School of Continuing Education Conference Center, 161 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, Wisconsin Registration fee: $150 includes partial meals (3 breakfasts, 2 lunches, session breaks, and welcome reception), tour transportation, and resource materials. Online registration is available at Trainers: John Ewart and Doris Hicks, University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service. Additional invited speakers are included in the program for their industry and technical expertise to discuss local and Great Lakes regional issues. Lodging: A list of downtown hotels in the vicinity of the UWM Conference Center is provided on the workshop website. Daily parking for the UWM School of Continuing Education is available in the adjacent Shops of Grand Avenue parking structure. For additional information about the 2016 Great Lakes workshop and program, contact John Ewart, Aquaculture and Fisheries Specialist, University of Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service. Phone: (302) ; Fax: (302) ; ewart@udel.edu, or visit the workshop Website at darc.cms.udel.edu/sgseafood. Great Lakes Rgional Seafood Workshop Milwaukee, Wisconsin May 9-12 Tour of JT Shrimp & Aquaculture Talk Wheatfeild, Indiana contact: Mikky Witkowski nikky@purdue.edu lake/ May 17th 11th International Conference on Recirculating Aquaculture & 2016 Aquaculture Innovation Workshop Roanoke, Virginia August BECOME A MEMBER OF THE IAAI FOR MORE INFORMATION Visit us online at com us at info@indianaaquaculure.com Page 11