East Coast Shellfish Aquaculture

Status and TrendsProduction Value

and Ecosystem Services

Bob RheaultExecutive DirectorEast Coast Shellfish Growers Associationbob@ECSGA.org

Data Disclaimer

Data are collected from a wide variety of sources

Some recent – some not so muchSome quite accurate – some is an

“educated guesstimate”

Thanks to:

Chris DavisDana MorseSebastian BelleRich LanganRay GrizzleJerry MolesDave BeutelTessa GetchisDave CareyGregg RivaraBill HastbackGef FlimlinWalt Canzonier

Karl RoscherMike OesterlingKaren HudsonTom MurrayStan AllenMichael CosgroveMarc TuranoNancy HadleyLeslie SturmerSeveral published reportsUSDA Aquaculture Census

2012 East Coast Shellfish Industry Snapshot

•About 1000 small farms

•~30 with more than 10 employees

•60% clams, 39% oysters, 1% mussels

•~ $ 120 Million in sales (up from $93M in ’09 – most growth in oysters)

Maine Production•2005 77 farms $ 2.8 M sales, 57FT jobs

•Up from 1998 15 farms $1.5 M sales

• 6 hatcheries, $1.8 M sales, 35 jobs

•Growth in mussels – 8 leases ~ $1M

•MSX killed ~ 25% of oysters in 2010-11

Massachusetts (2012) •$11.6 M oysters – growing fast

•Almost half from Duxbury on just 72 acres

•MSX hit Duxbury in 2010-2011 took ~50%

•$1.6 M clams – dropping

•349 lease holders

•1031 total acres

MSX

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1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

Massachusetts ShellfishHarvest Value in Millions

MSXValue tripledIn 15 years

0

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1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011

Rhode Island Farm GateWill top $3 million in 2013

20% annual growth

Almost all OystersGrowing ~20% a year50 farms173 acres 105 jobs $16,360/acre

$2.84MIn 2012

CT Production ?•Oysters $12 M ? – 98% traditional extensive

bottom culture

•Clams $20.5 M

• 70,000 acres leased, but less than 1/3 planted

•35 firms (2 dominant)

• 16,500 acres of protected seed beds

0

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30

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5019

90

1991

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Mill

ions

of

dolla

rsConnecticut Clam and Oyster Landings

1990-2008 in millions

1997 MSX

GoodSet

Clams

Oysters

?

New York •~$7.6 M in oysters ?

•~$2.3 M in clams

•3 Commercial hatcheries

•3 Towns have hatcheries for enhancement

•Expansion of small leases following new lease law in Suffolk County

New Jersey Clams•$2.6M price flat since 90s

•Leasing system appears “broken”

•5 regulatory agencies in-fighting

•Hurricane Sandy did lots of damage

New Jersey Oysters •About 12 growers using container

culture

•~ $760,000 – up 3-fold in 2 years

• Expansion limited by leasing issues (eelgrass, horseshoe crabs)

•Massive traditional shell planting effort in Delaware Bay Approx. $4 M ? landed value in 2008

Delaware

•Was illegal

•New laws passed this year allowing first leases since 1930

•Where we were in RI 20-30 years ago

Maryland• Traditional watermen have thwarted leasing

• 2009 Governor acknowledged that restoration efforts were not working.

• Rewrote all the regulations and lease laws -pushed for development of aquaculture

• Potential to become a major producer on over 3,300 acres of leases

• Over 300 million oysters planted this year

Thomas J. Murray, Karen Hudson Virginia Sea Grant, VIMS

www.vims.edu/map/aquaculture

0.84

3.14.8

9.8

12.6

16.9

23.3

28.1

0

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30

2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

Milli

ons

Number of Single, Cultured Market Oysters (millions)

Ignores spat on shell for shucking

$ 9.6 M in oysters (price remains strong)

$ 36 M clams (price flat)

Disease resistant linestriploidy

North Carolina

•A few small intensive oyster growers

•2.39 M oysters worth $266,000

•2.2 M clams from culture worth $247,000

•Declining water quality from coastal development

•Leasing hampered by historical eelgrass concerns

SouthCarolina

• 54 farms• $287,000 value

(intensive culture)

• overset issues• permitting issues

• Not counting traditional cultch planting and relay• Most oysters go to shucked meat market

or for roasting

Georgia

• About 11 clam farmers

• Wild and cultured clams not reported separately

• Oysters and clams the only two fisheries with increased landings in the past decade

Florida (2007)

•153 growers produced 185 M clams $19 M • ($18M in 2001, down to $10.7M in 2005)

•Hurricanes and red tides (Indian River)

•Market competition continues to hurt prices

•BP Spill suppressed market in 2011 by 30%

OverallEast

CoastShellfish

AquacultureOyster production growing

Clam production slowing

Growth strongest in Virginia and New England

Potential for mussels if we can overcome leasing issues

Overall Value of the East Coast Shellfish Aquaculture Industry

Harvest value $73M clams, $47M oysters

$120M x 2.5 multiplier = $300M economic impact

1221 full time jobs, 1294 part time or seasonal

What about evaluating ecosystem services ?

Ecosystem Services for ValuationNutrient removal – bio-harvest, denitrification,

burial, sequestration

Habitat enhancement – complexity and vertical structure provides food and refuge, stimulates abundance and diversity like natural and artificial reefs

Turbidity reduction and improved water quality

Benthic stabilization – erosion mitigation

Larvae production

Nutrient Removal at Harvest

Each oyster contains 0.2-0.5 grams N in tissue and shell protein – (clams est. ~ 0.3 grams N)

(Newell 2004 , Grizzle 2011, Stephenson & Shabman 2011)

The harvest of 550M clams ~160 metric Tons N and 120M oysters ~58 metric Tons N

@ $13/kg = $2.8 million 2.3% of landed value(Piehler and Smythe 2011)

@ $330/kg = – 59% of harvest value(Stephenson et al. 2010)

Nutrient Removal Denitrification –Difficult to quantify, variable in time and space -

Not likely at this timeCould dwarf harvest values (Newell et al. 2005, Stevenson

& Brown 2006, Piehler & Smythe 2011, and Kellog in prep.)

Could be insignificant (Stephenson 2011, Golen 2007)

Piehler and Smythe 2011 valued nitrogen removal services of NC oyster reefs at $3,000 per acre.

20,000 acres @ $3,000 = $60 million

Habitat Improvementvertical structure and complexity

Valuation of the juvenile fish that survive or thrive because of an acre of habitat with vertical structure as opposed to barren bottom…?

Enhanced commercial fisheries landings estimates: (Grabowski et al. 2007) ~$1,670/acy (Kroeger & Guanel in prep.) ~$14,500/acy

Willingness to pay for artificial and restored reef systems – $7,500 to >$100,000 per acre

$7,500 x 20,000 Acres = $150 million

Turbidity Reduction

Filter feeding activity enhances the flux of mirco-seston to the benthos where worms and amphipods can eat it.

Enhanced light penetration deepens the euphotic zone and can allow eelgrass to recover.

Grazing off the peaks of bloom events can lessen the severity of the crash that follows.

Reduction in pathogen concentrations.

All very challenging to evaluate…

Benthic Stabilization and Erosion Prevention

In certain areas this is a huge concern. Homeowners are desperate to preserve

their homes. Resource managers trying to preserve marsh

habitat.

- Spatially variable- Tough to valuate

Valuations

Harvest $120 millionMultiplier 2.5 x ~ $300 millionJobs 1,200 full time, 1,300 part time

Nutrient removal (harvest only) $2.6 - $67 million Habitat improvement $150 million Turbidity removal ?Shoreline stabilization ?Carbon credits $5-20/ton ?

Conclusion:

The value of ecosystem servicesmay rival or exceed the value of

harvest.

Questions?

Bob@ECSGA.org