Integrating Brite-Boxes into a Shellfish Hatchery for the Production of Bay Scallops

Summary:
The New Brunswick shellfish company, L’Étang Ruisseau Bar Ltd., has selected the northern bay scallop (Argopecten irradians irradians) as a way to diversify its product base. In 2008, the company began building a hatchery-nursery and a wet holding facility in Shippagan, New Brunswick, to produce bay scallop seed and store product for winter sales. Integrating the Brite-Box, an algal photo-bioreactor, into this facility was necessary to achieve the desired reliability and economic viability essential to the operation of a commercial hatchery. The algal production from the Brite-Box system was used to produce both bay scallop and Eastern oyster seed. Substantial research remains to be carried out in terms of defining the best operating procedures for the production of various algal species, but this technology provides a means of precisely adjusting temperature and pH levels for each species. Preliminary economic assessment suggests that this technology will lead to a substantial reduction in algal production cost.

Project Lead: L’Étang Ruisseau Bar Ltd.

Total Project Cost: $740,000
           
DFO-AIMAP Contribution: $218,250

Other Financial Support:

• Proponent: L’Étang Ruisseau Bar Ltd.
• Federal Government, ACOA
• Agriculture and Aquaculture Government of New-Brunswick
• Regional Development Corporation, RDC
• NRC Industrial Research Assistance Program, NRC-IRAP

For more information, please contact the regional coordinator:

Gulf Region coordinator, Stephen.Lanteigne@dfo-mpo.gc.ca