Ocean research and education is at the core of our mission:

This project seeks to compare bay scallop growth in two common oyster growout gear methods; bottom cage culture and lantern/pearl net culture.

Year One:

1. Acquire Bay Scallop seed from the MV hatchery and deploy into our upweller nursery system.

2. Grow seed to 1/4” size for planting into grow out gear trials

3. Move seed to both grow out gear types as it comes to size

4. Bi-monthly photo/measurement documentation of growth size in each gear type

5. At EOY we will compile all data into a report and publish to our outlets

Year Two:

1. Continue Year One stock Bi-monthly photo/measurement documentation of growth size in each gear type

2. Begin to harvest some of the Year One product for market

3. Allow Year One stock to grow until natural mortality (Winter of year two)

4. At EOY we will compile all data into a report and publish results to our outlets.

50,000 Bay Scallop seed was purchased from the MVSG and delivered to us on May 19th, 2023. The seed was placed into seapa bins with 1mm mesh liners and placed on our nursery raft in the lagoon. By 6/10 the baby scallops had doubled in size and on july 5th we measured the scallops before moving them into their grow out containers. Scallops measured between 14mm and 7mm. Half of the scallops were stocked into mid water mesh bags, while the other half were stocked into 1/4" mesh grow out bags, loaded into cages and placed in various depths on the lagoon pond farm site. Cage depth ranged from just 10ft below the surface to 40ft below the surface. Mesh bags were hung from a raft and descended down to various depths, from just 5ft below the surface all the way to 30ft below the surface. Due to mortality and variation in growth size, we realized that we did not have enough seed to stock the three different densities for the two different growing methods, so we opted to keep the experiment more straight forward and kept all stocking densities in each container at 100 per bag or 100 per net. This took the "variation" of stocking densities out of the experiment, and made the comparison of the two types of growing infrastructure more straightforward. Two containers of seed were allowed to remain in the Seapa bin nursery to see if further growth could be achieved.

On July 22nd, we checked on the Seapa cages to find almost 100% mortality on the remaining seed. The Seapa nursery cages had become overfouled, and the scallops had reduced to mortality for survival. The nets and oyster cages were also checked on July 22nd, and measurements were taken from both containers, with the average net sized scallop being 18mm, and cage bag size being 20mm. We opted to allow more time between measurements as growth was slowly considerably and we did not want to handle the product as much in attempt to reduce mortality. On September 2nd all of the gear was checked to find that scallops grown below 20ft of depth on the site had died due to anoxic conditions on the farm. This meant all cages below this depth, and all lantern nets hanging below this depth experienced 100% mortality. Of the stock that survived, scallops showed great growth and survivability. At this time, the gear was exchanged for larger mesh, as the scallops could now be placed on standard 3/4" oyster bag mesh. The cage scallops were moved up to final growout size bags, and the mesh net scallops were moved up to a larger mesh final growout lantern net.  Dead scallops were removed from the containers and the scallops were put to bed for the winter.

Scallops were checked again on March 16th of year two, to find the nets and scallops completely fouled with organisms. All cage scallops were found to be dead, most likely due to anoxic conditions on the bottom. Biofouling of the nets and scallops was much greater over the winter than anticipated, and our counts per container revealed a 30-50% mortality rate over the winter. All remaining scallops were placed into new, clean, fresh containers and put back into the water for growth. 

The nets were again checked on May 7th, to find a layer of biofouling completely covering the mesh. Mortality seemed to be no longer an issue, however the biofouling on the product was out of control. A way to air dry or kill biofouling is needed to be discovered. For the remainder of the summer, we harvested scallops for the market, shucking them and serving them raw on the shell at local event raw bars. We obtained more than $2 per scallop and several hundred scallops were harvested for market throughout the year, making the experiment a small success worthy of repeating and improving upon. 

We purchased scallop seed from the hatchery and continued grow trials in year two, building upon the success of year one. 50% of the seed was placed into the seapa containers, at lesser stocking densities than year 1, and the other 50% was placed "free range" into our upweller. This was not part of our initial experiment but we were interested to see the results as we had noticed some of the escaped seed from year 1 had grown better than seed put in nets. As expected, the year 2 "free range" seed class out performed the nets and all growth from the year prior. This has led us to suspect this may be the best way to get healthy seed to year 1 winter, and subsequent trials will be tested moving forward. 

Final Outcomes:

We sought to grow bay scallops from the hatchery to market size over a two year period, testing the difference in growth between bottom cage culture infrastructure and hanging net culture. Hanging net culture proved to be the best, although further trials should be completed with a better farm site.

In year one, we successfully grew bay scallops from the initial 1mm size delivered by the hatchery, to about 26mm (1 inch) size. Scallops have been tested in various container types and depths within the farm area throughout the growing season. While the promise of growing scallops in bottom cages seemed likely, due to anoxic conditions on the bottom of the farm site, all cage culture scallops eventually died. Future experiments with bottom cage culture in a better farm site will be conducted. Those which were growing within the healthy environment have shown success, with the pearl and lantern net method proving to be the most productive, efficient method of growth. Overcrowding and biofouling were major issues during the experiment, and new methods will need to be devised to solve these challenges. Stocking densities of 100 or less per container is highly recommended. We found 100 scallops per container to be overcrowding in both the lantern net and oyster bag containers. Suggested 75 or 50 scallops were container would be best. 

Overcoming the biofouling will be the largest challenge moving forward, but may not present an issue if the product is sold shucked or on the half shell as we did. Market value is very high for the product and therefore worth the attention needed to bring scallops to market. Further trials will continue to test the lantern nets, with stocking densities within the 50-75 range per tier. 

Year ONE Research results and discussion:

Two Gracilaria cloned fragments were purchased from Bigelow labs. One fragment given to MV Shellfish Group (MV) hatchery and the other to Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU) hatchery. The intent was to grow the culture large enough for out planting on the farm site. As the hatchery growth trials got underway we conducted weekly weighing and cleaning of the product and returning the product into a fresh culture container. We saw growth immediately with the fragments (See data sheets). On week 4, a catastrophe occurred in the MV hatchery in which too much cleaning solution was used. The entire culture was destroyed. Luckily, the SCSU culture was producing wonderful growth and we were able to supply the MV hatchery with another piece of Gracilaria from the SCSU stock. We quickly recognized that hatchery propagation of the Gracilaria product would be successful and decided to maintain hatchery culture growth for the entire season. Small fragments of the cultures were suspended in each hatchery to use as a starter if another catastrophe occurred. Our year one goal for hatchery growth was to see how large and how quickly we could build up the mass.

In July we began "harvesting" Gracilaria from the hatcheries to begin our market survey. Product was given to island restaurant and private chefs, as well as the general public via our farm market stand. General feedback was positive. Chefs liked the taste, color and texture of the product, however found it difficult to use in recognizable plates. Most chefs agreed that it would likely be used as a garnish, seasoning or small side element to complement another dish. The general public at the farmers market on the other hand recognized the product for use in soups, salads, smoothies, dried seasoning and even as a skin care element in a bath! There was very positive interest. We attribute these uses/knowledge of Gracilaria because of our Sugar Kelp seaweed product and the similar uses with it.

In August we seeded a line of Gracilaria (following the Seaweed handbook instructions) with strands from MV and deployed the vertical grow line into the nursery in the Lagoon. The strands were placed every foot along the line in attempt to determine best depths for growing Gracilaria. Die back of the Gracilaria was immediately noticed a week later, most likely due to nutrient deficiency and lack of oxygen in the pond compared to the hatcheries "prime" growing conditions. By week two, the grow line was completely fouled with other organisms and the Gracilaria was unable to recover. 

Regular harvests from the hatchery stock continued throughout the Summer and even into October. The entire culture was harvested from MV at the end of August and a small fragment was suspended to see if we can revive the stock next Spring. SCSU is going to continue to try to growth their culture through the entire winter and will monitor changes in growth as cold winter approaches.  

Year two trials continued in the Spring of 2023 as two new Gracilaria cultures were purchased from Bigelow labs and distributed to our hatchery partners, MVSG and SCSU. Using our findings from year one and consultation with our mentor over the winter, it was decided to forego plantings on the farm and to instead focus growth from our proven year one hatchery success. Using the data and experience from year one, the hatcheries were able to improve growth success with the cultures which allowed for us to harvest and trial Gracilaria to our markets throughout the summer season. For our marketing trials, we created a flyer to hand out with samples. Samples were made available throughout the summer, at festivals, farmers markets and raw bars and restaurants. Chefs and clients showed a liking for the product, however it was established that beyond a seaweed salad, folks didn't know what to do with it.

Research conclusions:

We sought to buy fragments of Gracilaria culture from the lab and grow it to a mass large enough to out-plant on the farm and harvest for market study.

We were very successful in growing the Gracilaria to market via the hatcheries. Outplanting on the farm was unsuccessful due to biofouling and varying conditions from the hatchery. It was determined that growth and harvest in the wild would never be as productive as growth and harvest in a hatchery. Hatchery propagation of Gracilaria is by far way more productive than planting in the wild, due to the materials and energy needed to grow and harvest from the wild. Highly productive masses of Gracilaria can be obtained in a hatchery setting with relative ease using simple off the shelf lighting, aeration and food.

Product was successfully harvested for the market and distributed to various end users such as chefs and the general public. The Gracilaria was well received by all parties, however the chefs were unable to find ways to incorporate the product into main dishes. Consensus from chefs is that the product is limited to garnish/seasoning type uses, and should be priced as such (priced like cilantro, basil, parsley, etc). At the farmers market, a niche group of clientele who seek out the health benefits of seaweed were willing to pay a premium price for the product (similar to kelp). The general public seemed uneducated about the uses of seaweed in food, however they enjoyed the look, texture and taste of the Gracilaria. Recommended pricing comparable to cilantro, basil, parsley, etc. 

Impact of regenerative ocean farming on water quality and biodiversity

Strengthening links between industry and academia through transdisciplinary action research: A collaborative water quality, biodiversity, and aquaculture initiative by researchers at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU), the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and Cottage City Oysters.

Status: Started in September 2020 - Present.