H.

E 215 AGRIFISHERY PROCESSES AND PRODUCTION

TECHNOLOGY

Octopus and Oyster Aquaculture

The development of octopus aquaculture, the farming of octopus, is being driven
by strong market demands in the Mediterranean and South American and Asian
countries. Octopus live short lives, growing rapidly and maturing early. They reach
typically two or three kilograms (high weights for
invertebrates). There is little overlap between
successive generations.
The supply of octopus has been constrained
by overfishing in many key fisheries. The common
octopus seems particularly suitable for aquaculture.
However, it is currently difficult to culture the early
life stages of octopus and maintain the high survival
rates for their paralarvae. This difficulty is limiting
the development of fully closed life cycle octopus
hatchery systems.

SPECIES
The aquaculture potential of several octopus species has been investigated in recent
years, including Octopus maya, Octopus bimaculoides, Octopus ocellatus, and Octopus
minus.
 The common octopus, Octopus vulgaris, appears to be the most serious candidate
for aquaculture in terms of its biological and market potential. It has a worldwide
distribution in tropical, subtropical and temperate waters. It is a benthic species occurring
from the coastal line to the outer edge of the continental shelf, at depths to 200 m and in
very diverse marine habitats. The common octopus is easily adapted to captive conditions
and has a rapid growth rate of 5% body weight per day. It also has a high feed conversion
rate with 30-60% of ingested food being incorporated in its own weight, a high fecundity
of 100,000-500,000 eggs per female.

TEMPERATURE
There is an optimum temperature at which a cold-blooded species does best in terms of
growth, survival and food intake. The common octopus is sensitive to temperature, with
an optimum range for commercial growth of 16-21 º C. Above its optimal thermal range,
growth and food intake decrease, and above 23 ºC loss in weight and increased mortality
has been recorded. A narrow thermal band can mean seasonality in growth due to
seasonal variations in water temperatures. The incorporation of temperature control
mechanisms, such as in the use of closed or onshore farming systems, can reduce
seasonal variances in production.

NUTRITION
Crustaceans, such as crab and lobster are an important dietary constituent of both natural
and captive populations of octopus. Fish are not as important. Fish-based diets have been
shown to provide both lower growth rates and food conversion to growth ratios in captive
octopus. This may be because of high lipid levels in fish flesh. Cephalopods, such as
octopus and squids, show how lipid digestibility as a result of low lipid requirements.
Consequently, a large component of the fish feed will not be taken up. Crustacean diets
are favored possibly as a result of their high protein relative to lipid levels.
Whether octopus farming is profitable depends in large part on how much it costs
to maintain a steady supply of crustaceans. Economic profitability can be maximized
without significantly comprising biological productivity by incorporating a mix of fish
and crustacean-based feed strategies. García García and Cerezo Velverde (2006) found a
feeding regime of one day crab followed by three days of fish can reduce the cost of
producing one kg of octopus by a predicted value of €2.96.

JUVENILES
Commercial aquaculture so far has been confined to starting with young juveniles caught
in the wild, weighing about 750 g. In Spain, these juveniles are purchased from local
fishermen and transferred to offshore floating sea cages. There they are fattened with
bycatch fish (fish, molluscs and crabs) for several months until a commercial size, about
3 kilograms, is reached. However, acquiring juveniles in this way, from the wild, further
increases the fishing pressure on octopus stocks that are already managed badly, possibly
producing cascades in marine ecosystems. A cost analysis of this practice found that over
40% of total cost went into acquiring the juveniles. The profitability of this approach is
low, depending s it does on fishing and the supply of sub-adults, a costly and highly
variable process.

PARALARVA
The bottleneck currently hindering the commercial development of octopus aquaculture
is the difficulty of rearing octopus during their early paralarva stage. Paralarva is the
name given to the larva of cephalopods. Paralarva are small, less than 3 millimetres at
hatching, with a long planktonic life stage. Current rearing techniques are inadequate,
resulting in very high mortality rates. Results vary when octopus paralarva are fed
different combination of prey. The best results have been with a mix of brine shrimp and
other living prey, such as crab zoeae. However, the survival and settlement rates of the
paralarvae is typically low in such studies, highlighting the difficulties in raising octopus
paralarvae. Maintaining high survival rates for paralarvae appears to be the main factor
limiting the development of a fully closed life cycle octopus hatchery system.
To achieve both profitable and environmentally sustainable results, much research
has been focused on paralarval rearing. In 2005, scientist from the principal research
groups in the field concluded the key factor affecting paralarval mortality is nutrition,
making nutrition research the highest priority. There is “ no reason not to believe that the
aquacultural rearing of octopus will be of great economic potential” as soon as the rearing
technology and nutritional issues have been addresses. Research in these areas is
promising.
OYSTER FARMING
Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as 1st century BC on the
Italian peninsula and later in Britain for export to Rome. The French oyster industry has
relied on aquaculture oyster since the late 18th century.
HISTORY
Oyster farming was practiced by the ancient Romans as early as the 1st century
BC on the Italian peninsula. With the Barbarian invasions the oyster farming in the
Mediterranean and the Atlantic came to an end.

Oyster harvesting using rakes and sail driven dredges.

In 1852 Monsieur de Bon started to re-seed the oyster beds by collecting the
oyster spawn using makeshift catchers. An important step to the modern oyster farming
was the oyster farm built by Hyacinthe Boeuf in the Ile Ré. After obtaining the rights to a
part of the coast he built a wall to make a reservoir and to break the strength of the
current. Sometime later the wall was covered with spat coming spontaneously from the
sea which gave 2000 baby oyster per square meter.

VARIETIES OF FARMED OYSTER

Commonly farmed food oyster include the Eastern oyster Crassostrea virginica,
the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas, Belon oyster Ostrea edulis, the Sydney rock oyster
Saccostrea glomerata, and the Southern mud oyster Ostrea angasi.

CULTIVATION
Oyster naturally grow in estuarine bodies of brackish water. When farmed, the
temperature and salinity of the water are controlled ) or at least monitored), so as to
include spawning and fertilization, as well as to speed the rate of maturation – which can
take several years.
Three methods of cultivation are commonly used. In each case oyster are
cultivated to the size of “spat,” the point at which they attach themselves to a substrate.
The substrate is known as a “cultch” (also spelled “cutch” or “cultch”. The loose spat
may be allowed to mature further to form “seed” oyster with small shells. In either case
(spat or seed stage), they are then set out to mature. The maturation technique is where
the cultivation method choice is made.
In one method the spat or seed oyster are distributed over existing oyster beds and
left mature naturally. Such oyster will then be collected using methods for fishing wild
oyster, such as dredging.
In the second method the spat or seed may be put in racks, bags, or cages (or they
may be glued in threes to vertical ropes) which are held above the bottom. Oyster
cultivated in this manner may be harvested by lifting the bags or racks to the surface and
removing mature oyster, or simply retrieving the larger oyster when the enclosure is
exposed at low tide. The latter method may avoid losses to some predators, by is more
expensive.
In the third method the spat or seed are placed in cultch within an artificial
maturation rank. The maturation tank may be fed with water that has been especially
prepared for the purpose of accelerating the growth rate of the oysters. In particular the
temperature and salinity of the water may be altered somewhat from nearby ocean water.
The carbonate minerals calcite aragonite in the water may help oysters develop their
shells faster and may also be included in the water processing prior to introduction to the
tanks. This latter cultivation technique may be the least susceptible to predators and
poaching, but is the most expensive to build and to operate. The Pacific oyster C. gigas is
the species most commonly used with this of farming.
BOATS
During the nineteenth century in the United States, variously draft sailboat designs were
developed for oystering in Chesapeake Bay. These included the bugeye, log canoe,
pungy, sharpie and skipjack. During the 1880s, a powerboat called Chesapeake Bay
deadrise was also developed.
Since 1977, several boat builders in Brittany have built specialized amphibious
vehicles for use in the area’s mussel farming industries. The boats are made of aluminum,
are relatively flat-bottomed, and have three, four, or six wheels, depending on the size of
the boat. When the tide is out the boats can run on the tidal flats using their wheels. When
the tide is in, they use a propeller to move themselves through the water. Oyster farmers
in Jersey make use of similar boats. Currently, Constructions Maritimes du Vivier
Amphibie has a range of models.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
The farming of oyster and other shellfish is relatively benign or even restorative
environmentally, and hold promise for relieving pressure on land-based protein sources.
Restoration of oyster populations are encouraged for the ecosystem services they provide,
including water quality maintenance, shoreline protection and sediment stabilization,
nutrient cycling and sequestration, and habitat for other rganisms. A native Olympia
oyster restoration projects are underway in the Chesapeake Bay. In the U.S., Delaware is
the only East Coast state without oyster aquaculture, but making aquaculture a state-
controlled industry of leasing water by the acre for commercial harvesting of shellfish is
being considered. Supporters of Delaware’s legislation to allow aquaculture cite revenue,
job creation, and nutrient cycling benefits. It is estimated that one acre can produce nearly
750,000 oysters, which could filter between 15 and 40 million gallons of water daily.
Other sources state that a single oyster can filter 24-96 liters a day (1-4 liters per
hour). With 750,000 oysters in one acre, 18, 000, 000 – 72, 000, 000 liters water can be
filtered, removing most forms of particulate matter suspended in the water column. The
particulate matter oysters remove are sand, clay, slit, detritus, and phytoplankton. These
particulates all could possibly contain harmful contamination that originates from
becoming ingested by other filter feeders that are then digested by bigger organisms,
oysters can sequester these possibly harmful pollutants, and excrete them into the
sediment at the bottom of waterways. To remove these contaminants from sediments,
species of seaweed can be added to take up these contaminants in their tissues that could
be removed and taken to a contained area where the contamination is benign to the
surrounding environment.

PREDATORS, DISEASES AND PESTS

Oyster predators include starfish, oyster drill snails, stingrays, Florida stone crab,
birds such as oystercatcher and gulls, and humans.
Pathogens that can either farmed C. virginica or C. gigas oysters include
Perkinsus marinus (Dermo) and Haplosporidium nelsoni (MSX). However, C. virginica
are much more susceptible to Dermo or MSX infections than are the C. gigas species of
oyster. Pathogens of O. edulis oysters include Mateilia refringes and Bonamia ostreae.
In the north Atlantic Ocean, oyster crabs may live in an endosymbiotic commensal
relationship within a host oyster. Since oyster crabs are considered a food delicacy they
may not be removed from young farmed oyster, as they can themselves be harvested for
sale.
Polydorid polychaetes are known as pets of cultured oysters.

OYSTER FARMING IN THE PHILIPPINES

The Philippines is an archipelago which has numerous sites suitable for oyster
farming. The cultivation of oysters in the country started in Bacoor Bay in Bacoor and
Kawit towns in the province of Cavite. Operations were generally small-farm and family
business. The average size of farm is 0.5 ha to 5 ha and the average production
approximately 50 metric tons per hectare. Due to the proximity of these two towns to
Metro Manila markets and the availability of land and water transportation facilities,
marketing of oysters has not been a great problem. Moreover, the present demand for
oysters still exceeds supply.
Species Cultured

There are four species of oysters cultivated: Crassostrea iredalei, C. cucullata, C.

malabonensis and C. palmipes. Of these four species, C. iredalei is the most
commercially desirable because it grows at a faster rate to a larger size and has straight
shell margins which make them easier to open.

* Fisheries Officer, Bureau of Fisheries, Binakayan Research Laboratory, Cavite.

Farming Methods

Two methods of oyster cultivation are practised in Bacoor Bay: stake and hanging
method. These are both productive and inexpensive and are widely used by the farmers.

1. Stake method - the basal portions of mature bamboos are used. The length of
bamboo trunks depends upon the water depth at the farm site. They are arranged
at 1.0 m interval. The tips of the stakes usually extend above the low water mark
by about one-half meter.
2. Hanging method - the cultches installed in the oyster plots consists of oyster
shells strung in polyethylene ropes of a certain length depending upon the height
of the water column where they are to be installed.

Management Practices

Stakes and collectors are installed in the natural oyster spawning grounds during
the months of May to August when the environmental factors such as salinity and
temperature are most favorable. These months represent the peak period of oyster
spawning in the Philippines.
Predators like crabs, sea urchins, oyster drills are picked up by hand. Sponges,
annelids and barnacles are scraped off with the aid of sharp knives. These fouling
organisms tend to reduce the yield by crowding or smothering newly settled spats as well
as slowing down the movement of water and transport of food. Likewise, these organisms
add weight to the collectors which can cause the stakes to fall.
The farms are guarded vigilantly against poachers especially when oysters have
reached marketable size. Culture period is 6–8 months.Oysters are best gathered during
the months of March, April and May. During this period they are fat, full, rounded,
bulging and creamy.
During harvesting divers swim underwater and pry off the clusters of oysters from
the stake with a mallet or any hard object and put them in bamboo baskets placed at the
centre of an inflated rubber interior. When the basket is filled, the divers swim back to the
banca (boat) to unload the oysters after washing and shaking them vigorously in sea
water. Harvesting is much easier with the hanging method . The hanging collectors are
simply cut off and hauled in the banca. The banca is brought ashore or to the caretaker's
house. The attached oysters are removed from the shell collectors with sharp instruments.
Oysters are sorted according to size in order to separate the marketable size from
the undersized. The young and immature oysters are returned to the bay either by
broadcasting or spreading them over the bottom or by putting them in bamboo trays
suspended from bamboo framework

Marketing

Oysters are sold shell-on or shucked. Shucking is done with a sharp knife. The
meat is removed from the shells and placed in a container filled with clean water. The
meat is weighed and measured by volume. Unshucked oysters are sold by the basket or
by the kilogram.
The present supply of oysters hardly meets local demand. Many farm operators
are hesitant to enter into contracts with businessmen from other countries because they
are afraid they may not be able to meet the required quantity stipulated in the contract.
Although oysters can be bought in the local market the whole year round, demand is
higher during certain months, usually during summer when oysters are prepared for
outings and other gatherings. On the other hand, during stormy weather, the supply is
relatively low due to difficulty in harvesting.

Problems

One major problem of oyster farming is the rapid siltation and pollution of the
bays and estuaries. The bamboo poles used in oyster farming accelerate the deterioration
of the environment by acting as barriers to the free flow of silt.

Reference:

Tadena, A.S. 2017. “Octopus and Oyster Aquaculture”. Aquaculture: Farming Aquatic
Animals and Plants. p.165-175. Arcler Press LLC. New York

Samsin, L. “Oyster Farming in the Philippines” retrieved from

https://www.fao.org/3/ab717e/AB717E06.htm