06 September 2007

 

 

NAFC MARINE CENTRE UNDERTAKES SHELLFISH STUDIES

 

 

To assist the growing mussel industry in Shetland determine levels of mussel larvae, spatfall (settlement of spawn) and other factors that affect the production potential of a farm site, the NAFC Marine Centre is conducting two separate studies into spat production. 

 

The Shellfish Biological and Environmental Monitoring Programme is a project - funded by Seafood Shetland, Shetland Development Trust, the NAFC Marine Centre and the UHI Hi Links Programme.  It is looking at mussel spat recruitment and settlement around Shetland, while the project entitled Enhancing Production Supply for the Shetland Mussel Industry – funded by Seafood Shetland, HIE Shetland and the NAFC Marine Centre - is studying the feasibility of producing mussel spatted ropes in a marine hatchery.

 

The Shellfish Biological and Environmental Monitoring Programme is led by Dr Richard Shelmerdine, he said: “We are working closely with industry representatives from Seafood Shetland and the Shetland Seafood Quality Control laboratories to monitor spat levels on four mussel sites across Shetland over the settlement and recruitment period from May to September this year.  This shows us the seasonal and geographic variations on the current year’s settlement.

 

“Over the summer period, we have had Shell STEP student, Lindsey Clark, working with us on the project to look at improving sampling and sample processing methodologies.

 

“Through regular monitoring, the industry stands to benefit greatly from increased success in site selection, deployment of spat collectors and, ultimately, increased mussel production.”

 

One of the participating sites is owned and operated by Kenny Pottinger of East Voe Shellfish.  He said: “Up until now spat settlement has been left to chance - we put ropes in the water and wait for settlement to naturally occur.  Given that spat settlement is the most important aspect of mussel farming, understanding the science behind it is extremely important.

 

“This is not a project that the industry could have undertaken itself so we are very pleased to be able to utilise the knowledge and expertise of the NAFC Marine Centre.”

 

The second project, Enhancing Production Supply for the Shetland Mussel Industry, is exploring the feasibility of producing mussel spatted ropes in a marine hatchery to assist the shellfish industry in overcoming year on year variability in mussel spat recruitment and settlement around Shetland.

 

Leading this project is Saro Saravanan, he explained: “Mussel growers are keen to establish whether hatchery produced spatted ropes can bridge the gaps in natural spatfall.  They also want to gain a better understanding of factors controlling production yield and ensure less variability from year to year.  The NAFC Marine Centre is working closely with the industry and Seafood Shetland to determine if hatchery produced spatted ropes could lead to more predictable recruitment of mussels.

 

“Broodstock has been collected from local areas and conditioned within the marine hatchery at the NAFC Marine Centre.  A range of trials have been carried out to ascertain issues such as the optimal density of spat on ropes for best coverage, the variability of settlement efficiency depending on rope types and comparisons of yields between hatchery spatted ropes and naturally occurring spatfall.”

 

Chief Executive of Seafood Shetland, Ruth Henderson, confirmed the importance of the studies to the local shellfish growing industry, she explained: “While mussel farming is still almost a fledgling industry in Shetland, it has created significant employment in rural areas and has great growth potential.  Shetland’s production represents over 50 per cent of Scotland’s total rope grown mussel production, which is 2,100 tonnes valued at between £2 and £3 million.  Despite this, when our mussel farmers compared the level of scientific study into spatfall with other mussel producing areas, they realised that they were working on simple anecdotal evidence rather than relying on the formal evidence that existed elsewhere.

 

“By putting together a funding package and engaging the experienced staff at the NAFC Marine Centre, we now have a feasibility study in place that we are confident will prove extremely useful to the industry in optimising production and increasing the chances of success for individual sites.”

 

The findings of both studies - which will be available at www.nafc.ac.uk and the NAFC Marine Centre library – will assist the industry in identifying cost effective routes to efficiency of production from existing sites.

 

 

 

Further information from:

 

Isabel Johnson, NAFC Marine Centre, Tel: 01595 692465 or email

 

Notes to editor

 

UHI HI Links provide companies in the Highlands and Islands with a unique service by linking them to Scottish academic expertise. Specifically they provide one-to-one free consultancy and financial support and guidance to help develop new business ideas (www.hilinks.uhi.ac.uk).