Recent growth of the shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia has added significant value to the state’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the state’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing quantities of additional quality shellfish to consumers. Following the lead of the hard clam industry, there has been a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters in recent years. The once extensive oyster planting has disappeared primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its place is an emerging aquaculture sector betting on improved culture techniques and disease resistant oyster seed. While these trends are widely acknowledged, there has been no consistent reporting of production and economic trends in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. Periodic assessments are necessary to inform growers and related interests about the actual status and trends in the industry. The intent of this survey is to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2011

Hudson, Karen

Murray, Thomas J.

English

The shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow, adding significant value to the state’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the state’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing quantities of additional quality shellfish to consumers. In recent years, folliowing the lead of the hard clam industry, a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters is underway. The once-extensive oyster planting utilizing wild seed has contracted primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its place is an emerging aquaculture sector based on improved culture techniques and disease-resistant oyster seed. While these trends are widely acknowledged, there has been no consistent reporting of production and economic trends in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. Periodic assessments are necessary to inform growers and related interests about the actual status and trends in the industry. The intent of this survey is to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2012

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W&M ScholarWorks Reports 6-1-2012 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2011 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey Thomas J. Murray Virginia Institute of Marine Science Karen Hudson Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/reports  Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Natural Resource Economics Commons Recommended Citation Murray, T. J., & Hudson, K. (2012) Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2011 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey. VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2012-04 || Virginia Sea Grant publication no. VSG-12-07. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V5PQ7G This Report is brought to you for free and open access by W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Reports by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu. Virginia Shellfish AquacultureSituation and Outlook Report Thomas J. Murray, Associate DirectorKaren Hudson, Shellfish Aquaculture Specialist Virginia Sea Grant Marine Extension ProgramVirginia Institute of Marine ScienceMay 2012Results of 2011 Virginia Shellfish  Aquaculture Crop Reporting SurveyVirginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook ReportResults of 2011 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting SurveyThe shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow, adding significant value to the State’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen harvest both hard clams and oysters from the State’s public resources, albeit at rates dimin-ished from historic levels. At the same time, Vir-ginia’s watermen-farmers are providing addition-al quantities of quality shellfish to consumers. In recent years, following the lead of the hard clam industry, a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters is underway. The once-extensive oyster planting utilizing wild seed has contracted primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its place is an emerging aquacul-ture sector based on improved culture techniques and disease-resistant oyster seed.While these trends are widely acknowledged, un-til this annual survey was initiated in 2006 there had been no consistent reporting of production and economic trends in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture in-dustry. Periodic assessments are necessary to inform growers and related interests about the actual status and trends in the industry. The intent of this survey is to continue annual assessments in order to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2012.  Virginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program 1MethodologyA mail and internet-based survey was devel-oped to collect information from Virginia clam and oyster growers known to be active in the industry.  A preliminary version of the survey instrument was pilot tested and re-vised based upon the field testing (Appendi-ces 1 & II).  Fifty-six complete, useable sur-veys were returned on the internet, by mail, and by fax, including eighteen clam grow-ers, forty-four oyster growers, four shellfish hatcheries and eleven growers who cultured both molluscs. Discussions with industry members suggest that the firms responding represent more than 90% of Virginia aqua-culture’s total production of market-size oysters and clams during 2011.For confidentiality reasons, the infor-mation collected is aggregated and the to-tal represents both the eastern and western shores of Virginia. Summary of FindingsVirginia Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Aquaculture 2005-2011The oyster industry continues to evolve from the traditional extensive planting of “shell-on-bottom,” utilizing wild oyster seed, to the use of hatchery produced seed.1 Methods of aquaculture have progressed into a more intensive or containerized form utilizing cages, racks, floats, and the like. In addition, extensive planting on bottom is resuming but using shell struck with eyed oyster larvae produced from a hatchery.  Intensive Culture (using cultchless, or single, seed)The growers surveyed reported a 14% de-crease in the number of single oysters plant-ed in 2011 as seen in Figure 1. This does not reflect the expectations reported from the previous survey which estimated seventy eight million single oysters planted, which would have been a slight increase from 2010 numbers. This drop in planting could be attributed to the expansion into extensive (spat-on-shell) culture. Even with the re-ported reduction this year, the expectations for 2012 plantings predict an estimated in-crease of ten percent which is just under the numbers planted for 2010.Oyster Sales and PricesThe numbers of market oysters sold by Vir-ginia growers increased in 2011 by 38% to twenty three million (Figure 2.).  This is similar to the increases reported for the 1  Historically the most common oyster “culture” technique in Virginia was the transplanting of wild har-vested seed to leased growing grounds.  Prior to the onslaught of diseases, the grower paid little attention to the grounds between the time seed was planted and the time mature oysters were harvested, some 2 or 3 years later.  Today there is little such culture practiced and the results here do not include information on such oyster planting.  The results here represent the use of aquaculture practices adopted as a result of increased oyster disease and predation using hatchery produced seed.Figure 1. Number of Oysters Planted by Virginia Aquaculturists2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year80706050403020100Number of Oysters Planted (in millions)6.2M16.1M18.5M27.8M 28.3M76.6M201165.5MFigure 2. Number of Aquacultured Market  Oysters Sold by Virginia GrowersYear2520151050Number of Oysters Sold (in millions)0.8M3.1M4.8M9.8M12.6M16.9M23.3M2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report2last few years. The growers’ expectations in-dicated in this survey estimate more than thirty three million cultured market oysters will be sold by Virginia growers in 2012 (a 44% increase). Combining the overall sales of single, market oysters with the weighted average price per oyster, it is estimated that the total revenue for oyster aquaculturists (not including spat on shell production) is $6.7 million.For the purposes of this report, oyster prices are not broken down as to market segment (i.e. primary wholesale, secondary wholesale, retail, etc.). The data in Figure 3 show continued general stability in the aver-age prices received for cultured oysters over 2  During 2011 the median price was $0.30 per mar-ket oyster.3  For a complete description of the spat on shell remote setting  industry development  see: http://web.vims.edu/adv/frg/FinalSpatonShell%20Project.pdf?svr=wwwthe six-year period while volume of sales have continued to expand.2   Extensive Culture (Spat-on-Shell)With the expansion of large-scale “remote setting” or “spat–on-shell’ oyster planting in Virginia during 2008 and continuing today, the entire hatchery volume picture changed, as existing firms became active in purchasing not just cultchless seed, but large quantities of eyed larvae for spat-on-shell develop-ment.3 Remote setting is a method of oyster cultivation in which oyster larvae and old oyster shells are mixed in a controlled envi-ronment in large tanks on land rather than in open Bay waters. After the larvae attach or set on the old oyster shells and metamor-phose into seed or spat oysters, the resulting spat-on-shell is ready for almost immediate planting where the spat will grow naturally until ready for harvest. The primary advantage of spat-on-shell cultivation is that it requires less labor and fewer materials than single-oyster cultiva-tion, thereby making it a more economi-cally feasible option for producing oysters. Because spat-on-shell cultivation produces oysters grown in clusters (similar to wild-caught oysters), the primary product is oys-ters for shucking rather than single oysters for half-shell consumption. For this reason, remote setting is not meant to take the place of single-oyster culture (which produces consistent, high-quality, half-shell oysters) but to complement it with a means of pro-ducing, on large scale, a local oyster for use by Virginia’s oyster processors.The industry forecast for expansion in use of eyed larvae for spat-on-shell contin-ues to be clear but depends on a consistent MinMaxAvgFigure 3. Oyster Prices Reported by Virginia GrowersYear0.70.60.50.40.30.20.10Price Per Oyster ($) 0.50 0.50 0.500.20 0.20 0.200.30 0.30 0.300.580.150.450.100.290.170.260.600.312005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110.500.170.30Figure 4. Oyster Seed and Larvae Sold by Virginia HatcheriesYear180016001400120010008006004002000Number of Seed and Larvae (in millions)20.4M 26.2M 26.7M499M347M56M2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011SeedEyed Larvae1,694M56M69M605MVirginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program 3production of eyed larvae, which was prob-lematic in 2011. This report does not out-line the industry trends of spat-on-shell cul-ture because a portion of this development over the years has been subsidized by federal monies. Trends will be reported in the fu-ture when the investment is coming solely from private dollars and the trends may be considered more sustainable for forecasting purposes. Oyster HatcheriesThe expansion of hatchery infrastructure in recent years prompted the addition of hatchery-specific survey questions beginning in the 2010 survey year. For the 2011 survey, hatchery questions were relocated to a stand-alone survey sent directly to the Virginia shellfish hatcheries. Sales of oyster seed and eyed larvae by Virginia hatcheries realized an almost four-fold increase from 2008 to 2010 with the majority being eyed larvae (1.7 billion). Oyster growers have adopted the use of im-proved strains of oyster seed and larvae over the years to optimize growth rates, disease resistance, and meat quality during warmer months. The production and use of triploid eyed larvae and seed is the overwhelming majority reported by growers, and hence produced by hatcheries. In 2011 the percent triploids used in Virginia farms was 95%. Industry reports that the sterile triploid seed is more viable from a commercial stand-point, as the oysters grow faster and do not diminish in quality with seasonal spawning.The potential for future expansion lies in the production of oyster eyed larvae for spat-on-shell aquaculture. Difficulties in hatch-ery production of eyed larvae were reported in the summer of 2011 and attributed to un-known water quality complications. This led to a significant drop in the number of eyed larvae sold from the previous year, as seen in Figure 4. However, this has sparked in-dustry and academic collaborations focused on better understanding water quality as it relates to hatchery production. The forecast for 2012 is that hatcheries will sell close to two billion eyed larvae. The continued growth in aquaculture of oysters in Virginia directly drives the hatchery forecast. Virtually all of the seed and eyed larvae produced is either planted by the hatchery owners themselves in their aquaculture operations or sold to other Vir-ginia growers. This vertically integrated sys-tem with eventual sales to many out-of-state consumers adds important economic devel-opment to local coastal communities.EmploymentFinally, as shown in Figure 5, Employment associated with oyster aquaculture has re-mained variable over recent years. The dif-ficulty of estimating the time and labor asso-ciated with relatively small-scale aquaculture conducted in conjunction with other busi-ness lines makes estimates of oyster-culture labor problematic at this point in industry development. In view of this fact, the trends in these employment figures should be not overly interpreted. There is consistent ex-pectation that with successful development of both spat-on-shell and cultch-less oyster aquaculture, additional employment will be required to meet the greatly expanded plant-ing and production needs. Figure 5. Estimated Virginia Oyster Aquaculture Employment*Year71Part TimeFull Time79728830555699180160140120100806040200Number of Jobs538173532005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20116771*It has come to the author’s attention that oyster employment graphs from the 2009 and 2010 editions of this report contained some errors, which have been corrected here.Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report4Virginia Clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) Aquaculture 2005-2011The aquaculture of hard clams in Virginia, while expanding from 2005 to 2007, began contracting somewhat in 2008 and showed a further decline for the subsequent two years. Reports for 2011, however, indicate a 22% increase in the number of clams planted. Despite the variation since 2008, and based upon previous economic assessments com-piled by the authors, Virginia continues to lead the nation in the culture of hard clams.As depicted in Figure 6, clam growers reported an increase in seed plantings dur-ing the most recent year. The firms reporting indicated that during 2011 they increased plantings by nearly eighty million clams (22%) compared to 2010. The outlook for 2012 estimates a comparable number of clams planted as in 2011. Clam Sales and PricesThe 2011 crop reporting survey reflects a slight increase (12%) in the total num-ber of Virginia market clams sold between 2010 and the end of 2011. During 2011, it is estimated that Virginia’s total farm out-put reached 182 million “market” clams, as shown in Figure 7. Combining the overall sales with the weighted average price per market clam, it is estimated that total rev-enue for hard clam aquaculturists in 2011 was $26 million—a slight increase of $1 million from the prior year. Figure 8 displays the survey findings re-garding relative prices received for market clams. The weighted average price reported Figure 6. Number of Hard Clams Planted in Virginia7006005004003002001000Number of Clams (in millions)397.1M512.3M589.4M538.4M422M370.6M2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011450MFigure 7. Number of Hard Clams Sold in VirginiaYear250200150100500Number of Clams (in millions)193.6M 194.5M211.9M186M145M162.2M2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011182MYearVirginia Sea Grant Marine Extension Program 54  Smaller niche growers, with production and sales of less than 50,000 clams reported average prices as high as $0.22.  Fifteen cents per market clam was the modal price to the grower.  It should be pointed out that market level for most growers is equivalent to farm gate prices.  Some smaller growers market product directly at the retail level. The weighted average across all growers was $0.151 per market clam in 20115  The price of seed depends upon size but the modal price reported was $0.02 per seed in 2011; essentially the same since 2007.per market clam at the farm gate was $0.16 during 2011, the same as the previous year.4Clam HatcheriesClam seed production and sales have remained stable for the last several years and the reported average price of clam seed has remained the same for the last several years.5 Industry sources indicate much of the hatchery capacity is dedicated to producing seed for the hatchery owner’s own planting. Essentially, all of the seed produced is planted in Virginia. This vertically integrated system with eventual sales to many out-of-state consumers adds important economic development to local coastal communities. EmploymentFigure 9 demonstrates a slight increase in the full-time level of employment while the part time showed a decrease. However, as noted above, the employment situation with all shellfish aquaculture is complicated by the diversity of the firms involved. The vast ma-jority of the clam production is conducted by relatively large vertically integrated com-panies, however they often contract with self-employed grower cooperatives which, as with oysters, also complicates the estimates of labor involved in this industry. MinMaxAvgFigure 8. Clam Prices Reported by Virginia GrowersYear0.300.250.200.150.100.050Price Per Clam ($)0.16 0.170.250.12 0.12 0.120.13 0.13 0.130.160.120.210.110.150.220.160.130.110.120.240.162005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011Figure 9. Virginia Clam Aquaculture EmploymentYear50Full TimePart Time55135 1376378168 1729499122 133300250200150100500Number of Jobs2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 201114446Appendix 1: Grower SurveyAppendix 2: Hatchery SurveyAll photos ©Margaret Pizer/VASG.Additional copies of this publication are available from: Virginia Sea Grant Communications Virginia Institute of Marine Science P.O. Box 1346 Gloucester Point, VA 23062804/684-7167vsgpubs@vims.eduwww.vims.edu/advVSG-12-07VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2012-04This work is a result of research sponsored in part by NOAA Office of Sea Grant, U.S. Department of Commerce, under Grant No. NA10OAR4170085 to the Virginia Sea Grant Program. The views expressed herein do not necessarily  reflect the views of any of those organizations.

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2011 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey

W&M ScholarWorks Reports 6-1-2011 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2010 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey Thomas J. Murray Virginia Institute of Marine Science Karen Hudson Virginia Institute of Marine Science Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.wm.edu/reports  Part of the Aquaculture and Fisheries Commons, and the Natural Resource Economics Commons Recommended Citation Murray, T. J., & Hudson, K. (2011) Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2010 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey. VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2011-11 || Virginia Sea Grant publication no. VSG-11-06. Virginia Institute of Marine Science, William & Mary. https://doi.org/10.21220/V5TD80 This Report is brought to you for free and open access by W&M ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Reports by an authorized administrator of W&M ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact scholarworks@wm.edu. Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Thomas J. Murray, Associate DirectorKaren Hudson, Shellfish Aquaculture SpecialistVirginia Sea Grant Marine Extension ProgramVirginia Institute of Marine ScienceJune 2011Results of 2010 Virginia Shellfish  Aquaculture Crop Reporting SurveyRecent growth of the shellfish aquaculture in-dustry in Virginia has added significant value to the State’s seafood marketplace.  Today, water-men continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the State’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates.  At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing ad-ditional quantities of quality shellfish to con-sumers. In recent years, following the lead of the hard clam industry, a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters is under-way. The once-extensive oyster planting has dis-appeared primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its place is an emerging aquaculture Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook ReportResults of 2010 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey sector based on improved culture techniques and disease-resistant oyster seed.While these trends are widely acknowledged, there has been no consistent reporting of produc-tion and economic trends in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry.  Periodic assessments are necessary to inform growers and related inter-ests about the actual status and trends in the in-dustry.  The intent of this survey is to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry.  This report is based upon an indus-try survey completed during the first quarter of 2011.Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report1MethodologyA mail and internet-based survey was devel-oped to collect information from Virginia clam and oyster growers known to be active in the industry.  A preliminary version of the survey instrument was pilot tested and re-vised based upon the field testing (Appendix 1).  Fifty one complete, useable surveys were returned on the internet, mail or fax, includ-ing nineteen clam growers, forty five oyster growers, five shellfish hatcheries and nine growers who cultured both molluscs. Dis-cussions with industry members suggest that the firms responding represent more than 90% of Virginia aquaculture’s total produc-tion of market size oysters and clams during 2010.For confidentiality reasons, the informa-tion collected is aggregated and the total rep-resents both the eastern and western shores of Virginia. Summary of FindingsVirginia Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Aquaculture 2005-2010The oyster industry continues to evolve from the traditional extensive planting of “shell on bottom” to more intensive, contained, aquaculture utilizing cages, racks, floats, and the like.1 As is depicted in Figures 1 and 2, the growers surveyed reported substantial expansion in oyster aquaculture from 2009 to 2010. A nearly three-fold rise in oyster plantings occurred from 2009 to 2010, the largest single year increase since the spike in plantings from 2005 to 2006.  The nearly seventy seven million oys-ters planted in 2010 exceed the fifty percent increase predicted by growers in last year’s survey by thirty four million oysters.  Ex-pectations reported by growers in this survey for 2011 plantings estimate an additional in-crease of 1.8 million oysters. Oyster Sales and PricesThe numbers of market oysters sold by Vir-ginia growers increased in 2010 by 34% to almost seventeen million.  This is similar to the increase reported from 2008 to 2009, which was 29%. If the growers’ expectations indicated in this survey materialize, more than twenty nine million cultured market oysters will be sold by Virginia growers in 2011 (a 74% increase). Combining the overall sales of single, market oysters with the weighted average price per oyster it is estimated that the total revenue for oyster aquaculturists (not including spat on shell production) is $5 million.1  Historically the most common oyster “culture” technique in Virginia was the transplanting of wild har-vested seed to leased growing grounds.  Prior to the onslaught of diseases, the grower paid little attention to the grounds between the time seed was planted and the time mature oysters were harvested, some 2 or 3 years later.  Today there is little such culture practiced and the results here do not include information on such oyster planting.  The results here represent the use of intensive aquaculture practices adopted as a result of increased oyster disease and predation using hatchery produced seed.  Figure 1. Number of Oysters Planted by Virginia Aquaculturists2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year80706050403020100Number of Oysters Planted (in millions)6.2M16.1M18.5M27.8M 28.3M76.6MFigure 2. Number of Aquacultured Market  Oysters Sold by Virginia Growers2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year181614121086420Number of Oysters Sold (in millions)0.8M3.1M4.8M9.8M12.6M16.9MVirginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report2For the purposes of this report, oyster prices are not broken down as to market segment (i.e. primary wholesale, secondary wholesale, retail, etc.).  The data in Figure 3 show continued stability in the average prices received for cultured oysters over the five-year period while volume of sales have continued to expand.2   With the expansion of large-scale “remote setting” or “spat–on-shell’ oyster planting in Virginia during 2008 and continuing today, the entire hatchery volume picture changed, as existing firms became active in purchasing not just cultchless seed, but large quantities of eyed larvae for spat-on-shell development. Remote setting is a method of oyster cultiva-tion in which oyster larvae and old oyster shells are mixed in a controlled environment in large tanks on land rather than in open Bay waters. After the larvae attach or set on 2  During 2010 the median price was $.32 per market oyster up from $.30 in 2009.3  For a complete description of the spat on shell remote setting  industry development  see: http://web.vims.edu/adv/frg/FinalSpatonShell%20Project.pdf?svr=wwwMinMaxAvgFigure 3. Oyster Prices Reported by Virginia Growers2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year0.70.60.50.40.30.20.10Price Per Oyster ($) 0.50 0.50 0.500.20 0.20 0.200.30 0.30 0.300.580.150.450.100.290.170.260.600.31the old oyster shells and metamorphose into seed or spat oysters, the resulting spat-on-shell is ready for almost immediate planting in the Bay where the spat will grow naturally until ready for harvest. The primary advantage of spat-on-shell cultivation is that it requires less labor and fewer materials than single-oyster cultiva-tion, thereby making it a more economi-cally feasible option for producing oysters. Because spat-on-shell cultivation produces oysters grown in clumps (similar to wild-caught oysters), the primary product is oys-ters for shucking rather than single oysters for half-shell consumption. For this reason, remote setting is not meant to take the place of single-oyster culture (which produces consistent, high-quality, half-shell oysters) but to complement it with a means of pro-ducing, on large scale, a local oyster for use by Virginia’s oyster processors.The industry forecast for continued growth in use of eyed larvae for spat-on-shell remains. Difficulties in hatchery production in 2009 were reportedly the cause of the de-cline seen in that year; however significant advancement in the production of both seed and eyed larvae is evident by the surge in 2010 shown in Figure 4. Production of oys-ter seed and eyed larvae by Virginia hatch-eries realized an almost four-fold increase from 2008 to 2010 with the majority being eyed larvae (1.7 billion).3This forecast derives directly from the continued growth in aquaculture of oys-ters in Virginia, as virtually all of the seed produced is either planted by the hatch-ery owners themselves in their aquaculture operations or sold to other Virginia oyster growers.  This vertically integrated system with eventual sales to many out-of-state consumers adds important economic devel-opment to local coastal communities. Figure 4. Oyster Seed and Larvae Sold by Virginia Hatcheries2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year180016001400120010008006004002000Number of Seed and Larvae (in millions)20.4M 26.2M 26.7M499M347M1,694MSeedEyed Larvae56MVirginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report3Finally, as shown in Figure 5, Employ-ment associated with oyster aquaculture has remained variable over the recent years.  The difficulty of estimating the time and labor associated with relatively small-scale aqua-culture conducted in conjunction with other business lines makes estimates of oyster cul-ture labor problematic at this point in indus-try development.   In view of this fact, the trends in these employment figures should be not overly interpreted.  There is consis-tent expectation that with successful devel-opment of both spat-on-shell and cultch-less oyster aquaculture, additional employment will be required to meet the greatly expand-ed planting and production needs.Oyster growers have adopted the use of improved strains of oyster seed and lar-vae over the years to optimize growth rates, disease resistence, and meat quality during warmer months. The use of triploid eyed lar-vae and seed is the overwhelming majority reported by growers. In 2009 and 2010 the percent triploids used in Virginia farms was 80% and 91% respectively. Industry reports that the sterile triploid seed is more viable from a commercial standpoint, as the oysters grow faster and do not diminish in quality with seasonal spawning. Virginia Clam (Mercenaria merce-naria) Aquaculture 2005-2009The aquaculture of hard clams in Virginia while expanding from 2005 to 2007 began contracting somewhat in 2008 and has been declining further since 2009. Based upon previous economic assessments compiled by the authors, Virginia leads the nation in the culture of hard clams. While Virginia continues to lead the nation in hard clam aquaculture production, a continued down-turn in planting and sales is evidenced by the most recent surveys.  As depicted in Figure 6, for the third year in a row, clam growers reported a decline in seed plantings during the most recent year. The firms reporting indicated that during 2010 they decreased plantings by nearly fifty one million clams (-12%) compared to 2009. The outlook for 2010 was incomplete at the time of the 2009 survey; however, those reporting suggested the likelihood of an increase in their seed planting of 7% dur-ing 2010 which is not consistent with the data from this survey. Figure 7. Number of Hard Clams Sold in Virginia2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year250200150100500Number of Clams (in millions)193.6M 194.5M211.9M186M145M162.2MFigure 6. Number of Hard Clams Planted in Virginia2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year7006005004003002001000Number of Clams (in millions)397.1M512.3M589.4M538.4M422M370.6MFigure 5. Estimated Virginia Oyster Aquaculture Employment2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year71Full TimePart Time79728830555699180160140120100806040200Number of Jobs53817353Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report4Clam Sales and PricesThe 2010 crop reporting survey reflects a slight increase (12%) in the total number of Virginia market clams sold between 2009 and the end of 2010.  During 2010, it is estimated that Virginia’s total farm output reached an estimated one hundred sixty two million “market” clams, as shown in Figure 7 (previous page). Combining the overall sales with weighted average price per mar-ket clam it is estimated that total revenue for hard clam aquaculturists in 2010 was $25 million—a slight increase of $3.3 million from the prior year.  There was an estimated 69% increase in sales of clam seed (Figure 8) in 2010 com-pared to the prior year; however this survey was the first year specific hatchery data was received, therefore it may be an artifact of that change.  Industry sources indicate that much of the hatchery capacity is dedicated to producing seed for the hatchery owner’s own planting. Essentially, all of the seed pro-duced is planted in Virginia. The reported average price of clam seed was the same in 2010 as it has been in previous years.4Figure 9 displays the survey findings re-garding relative prices received for market clams. The weighted average price reported per market clam at the farm gate was $.16 during 2010, up slightly from the prior year.5  Also, as shown in Figure 10, even with reported contraction at the farm level both levels of employment showed a slight in-crease. Full time employment increased 5% and part time personnel increased 9% dur-ing 2010.4  The price of seed depends upon size but the modal price reported was $.025 per seed in 2010; essentially the same since 2007. 5  Smaller niche growers, with production and sales of less than 50,000 clams reported average prices as high as $.24.  Seventeen cents per market clam was the modal price to the grower.  It should be pointed out that market level for most growers is equivalent to farm gate prices.  Some smaller growers market product directly at the retail level. The weighted average across all growers was $.158 per market clam in 2010.Figure 8. Number of Clam Seed Sold by Virginia Hatcheries2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year300250200150100500Number of Seed (in millions)67M87M127M114M169M285MFigure 10. Virginia Clam Aquaculture Employment2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year50Full TimePart Time55135 1376378168 1729499122 133300250200150100500Number of JobsMinMaxAvgFigure 9. Clam Prices Reported by Virginia Growers2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010Year0.300.250.200.150.100.050Price Per Clam ($)0.16 0.170.250.12 0.12 0.120.13 0.13 0.130.160.120.210.110.150.240.160.130.11Appendix 1: Survey InstrumentPage 6Virginia Shellfish Grower Situation & Outlook Survey - 201114. 2011 ESTIMATED Commercial Single Oyster Aquaculture15. Comments or Explanatory Notes on 2010 & 2011 Commercial Cultchless (Single) Oyster Aquaculture:a.) # Oysters planted     i.) % diploid     ii.) % triploidb.) # Seed purchased     i.) % diploid     ii.) % triploidc.) % Seed purchased from out-of-stated.) Avg. price of DIPLOID seed purchased ($ per 1000)e.) Avg. price of TRIPLOID seed purchased ($ per 1000)f.) # Seed soldg.) % Seed sold out-of-stateh.) Avg. price of seed sold ($ per 1000)i.) # Market (non-seed) oysters sold     i.) % wholesale     ii.) % retailj.) % Market oysters sold out-of-statek.) Avg. price per market oyster ($ per piece)     i.) Avg. price wholesale     ii.) Avg. price retaill.) # Full-time helpm.) # Part-time helpPhotos: Cover ©Carly Rose/VASG; Inside cover: (clockwise from top left) ©Margaret Pizer/VASG (oyster seed), ©VASG (workboats), ©                          (hardshell clams, Mercenaria mercenaria), ©VASG (clam beds), ©Karen Hudson/VASG (oyster gear).?? /Wikimedia CommonsAdditional copies of this publication are available from: Virginia Sea Grant Communications Virginia Institute of Marine Science P.O. Box 1346 Gloucester Point, VA 23062804/684-7167vsgpubs@vims.eduwww.vims.edu/adv/VSG-11-06VIMS Marine Resource Report No. 2011-11This work is a result of research sponsored in part by NOAA Office of Sea Grant, U.S. Department of Commerce, under Grant No. NA96RG0025 to the Virginia Sea Grant Program. The views expressed herein do not necessarily  reflect the views of any of those organizations.

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2010 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey

The shellfish aquaculture industry in Virginia continues to grow, adding significant value to the state’s seafood marketplace. Today, watermen continue to harvest both hard clams and oysters from the state’s public resources, albeit at diminished rates. At the same time, Virginia’s watermen-farmers are providing growing quantities of additional quality shellfish to consumers. In recent years, folliowing the lead of the hard clam industry, a significant transition to intensive aquaculture of native oysters is underway. The once-extensive oyster planting utilizing wild seed has contracted primarily as a result of endemic oyster diseases and increasing wildlife predation of seed oysters. In its place is an emerging aquaculture sector based on improved culture techniques and disease-resistant oyster seed. While these trends are widely acknowledged, there has been no consistent reporting of production and economic trends in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. Periodic assessments are necessary to inform growers and related interests about the actual status and trends in the industry. The intent of this survey is to continue annual assessments with which to gauge growth and inputs in Virginia’s shellfish aquaculture industry. This report is based upon an industry survey completed during the first quarter of 2013

Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2012 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey

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Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Situation and Outlook Report : Results of the 2010 Virginia Shellfish Aquaculture Crop Reporting Survey

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