Eel Lake Oyster Farm’s Anti-fouling Device

Summary:
Invasive species (e.g. mussels, tunicates, ship worms, etc), compete with oysters for nutrients and plankton found in the water column. This results in increased mortality rates for young oysters (they can not open in spring to feed) and decreased growth rates for adult oysters as they must compete for space and food with invasive populations. In the past, the method used to reduce invasive species on the Eel Lake sites has been to turn over the floating bags, by hand, to expose them to the sun – an extremely labour intensive process.
 
This project was aimed at designing, building and testing an anti-fouling device that could decrease the labour required to combat invasive species by increasing the mortality rate of mussels attached to the oyster floating bags. The Project objective was to develop an environmentally friendly process to clean oysters that is 1) more effective in reducing invasive species (mainly mussels); and 2) is less labour intensive. An anti-fouling device was developed that mechanically removes each oyster bag from the water and submerses them into a hot water bath. By ”dipping” the oyster bag into a hot water bath, up to 90-95% of all mussel spat were killed, including mussels at the core of the floating bags. This process used 50% less labour than the traditional method reducing overall labour by a minimum of 6.25% (2 days). This process improved the operational efficiency of invasive species control, enhancing overall oyster production.

Project Lead: Eel Lake Oyster Farm

Total Project Cost: $11,155.61
           
DFO-AIMAP Contribution: $7,481.61

Other Financial Support:

• Proponent: Eel Lake Oyster Farm

For more information, please contact the regional coordinator:
Maritimes Region coordinator, Cindy.Webster@dfo-mpo.gc.ca