Goal: To develop proprietary land-based aquaculture for high-quality, half-shell oysters and market them with a high margin of return.
Ocean Equities, LLC, TerrAqua and the Department of Marine Biotechnology, University of Maryland Baltimore County are developing a recirculating saltwater aquaculture system for commercial production of Eastern oysters. This approach can have advantages over wild-harvested and conventionally cultured oysters, especially given the high demand and price of high-quality oysters for the half-shell market, coupled with increasing concerns over the safety of consuming raw shellfish.
Earlier research demonstrated that oysters and many other filter-feeding bivalves can be reared in recirculating systems, and that Pacific oysters can be raised economically in them. This is a proof of concept to reduce the technical risk of growing Eastern oysters in COMB’s recirculating aquaculture system.
The major question addressed is whether they can be grown economically relative to other growing methods, using different feeding regimens. This technology can permit biosecure oyster production, assuring product safety for consumers, as well as oysters with a tailored taste and texture. And, because of controlled environmental conditions, they can grow much faster than conventionally cultured oysters.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Interstate Shellfish Sanitation Conference strongly support applying recirculating technology for safe, biosecure production of raw shellfish. This project was funded by the Maryland Industrial Partnerships (MIPS) program and private investment.