The Grower — 1

The Grower Newsletter for the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers

March 2013

Chairman’s

Column

2,3

FSA Scotland 4,5

News items 6,7

News from Oz 8

MusselsAlive 10

Shellfish in

Holland

12

Oysterecover 15

INSIDE THIS 20

PAGE ISSUE

The Grower is distributed to all members of the ASSG and is also available online at www.assg.org.uk Why don’t you consider advertising to our specialist readership?

The Grower is a quarterly newsletter edited by Janet H. Brown, The Shellfish Team, 2

Annfield Grove, Stirling, FK8 2BN jan.brown@dsl.pipex.com For membership of ASSG contact Chairman: Walter Speirs, Muckairn Mussels, Achnacloich, Connel,

Argyll, PA37 1PR walter.speirs@btconnect.com

For further information see our web site at www.assg.org.uk Disclaimer: Views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the official view of the Association

Advertising

Workshop on oyster herpes virus and biosecurity in Oban

Dutch mussel

processing

16

News from

Neogen

18

USA ICSR

conference

19

In the last issue of the Grower a mussel wreath on the front cover drew many

favourable comments. So there may be a call for “shellfish in art” photographs in the

Grower. When confronted by 6 sterling silver George IV cruets made up of a

magnificent crab resting on whelk shells surrounded by various shellfish and resting on

three shell feet they seemed to present an irresistible subject for this slot. The original

was made by Robert Garrard and the other 5 by Sebastian Crespell in 1820 and they are

housed at the Fishmongers’ Hall, London Bridge. Two are pictured above.

Shellfish Culture

Two of the speakers and a publication

below that will inform the workshop, - on

the left Fabrice Richez and on the right

Martin Flanigan who will be speaking

together with Michael Gubbins and Mar

Marcos-Lopez at the ASSG workshop/

AGM. See page 15 for full details. Please

book as soon as you can.

The Grower — 2

Chairman’s Column

Walter Speirs, chairman of Association of Scottish

Shellfish Growers

Spring is nearly upon us, my favourite time of

year! It is so nice to see the daffodils emerging,

and the whole garden is just poised waiting to burst

into life. Before the dreaded Trossulus appeared

this was always a time of frantic activity, trying to

get all of our spat collectors in. Sadly no more, but

maybe next year....

Before I start listing my activities since the last

issue I would like to remind you that the Annual

General Meeting of ASSG will take place in Oban,

on the 16th April. The venue will be decided once

we have an indication of numbers. Prior to the

AGM there will be a workshop about oyster herpes

virus, and biosecurity in general. This has been

arranged following a request from members at the

AGM last year, so I am hoping for a good turnout!

Seafish have kindly offered to fund the event, so

thanks are due to Craig Burton for arranging this.

Another date to get in the diary now is our

annual conference, 2nd and 3rd October, again in

Oban. Any suggestions for speakers or topics

would be welcome.

So on to the list of meetings.

It has been suggested that Scotland should have

an Aquaculture Innovation Centre, and I attended a

meeting in Perth on 16th January to discuss the

possibilities. It’s early days yet, but should it go

ahead then there will be another route to research

for our sector. Only snag is that matched funding

will be required, and ASSG has no funds to

provide that, unlike the salmon and trout

associations. I’ll keep you posted.

On 18th January I attended a meeting regarding

EMFF, the funding which will replace EFF from

2014 onwards. It is good to have an input at this

stage, helping to shape the guidance proposals, and

ensuring that the needs of our sector are not

overlooked.

I spent the first week of February in Holland (at

my own expense!) participating in a workshop

focused on regeneration of native oyster stocks

across Europe. As you probably know I am

interested in setting up a hatchery in Scotland, and

part of this trip was a visit to a hatchery. It was

encouraging to see that there is nothing to be

frightened about regarding the technology required

to set one up. Our Editor Janet was also there, so

no doubt there will be a report elsewhere in the

Grower. One interesting point to note was that

many years ago the Dutch oyster beds were re-

populated using stock from the Firth of Forth!

13th February and it was back to Victoria Quay

in Edinburgh for a meeting about the progress of

the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill through

Parliament. As you may expect, most of the

heated debate is around the relationship between

the salmon angling sector and salmon farmers.

The part of the Bill which applies to us seems to

be fairly widely accepted, so I hope we will have

the protection we need for our shellfish growing

waters, as proposed in the Bill.

Same day, I met with Joyce Carr, who is

organising a new group forming out of the

Shellfish Forum and the Aquaculture and

Fisheries Bill, to co-ordinate how we address the

relationship between shellfish flesh quality and

water quality. Membership will include FSAS,

SEPA, Scottish Water, Scottish Government and

industry. This group should be very helpful as we

try to align standards between Shellfish Growing

Waters and Shellfish Harvesting Waters, assuming

the Aquaculture and Fisheries Bill goes ahead as

planned.

On Valentine’s Day a meeting was held at

Cairndow in an attempt to identify barriers to

growth in the shellfish sector. This group is a sub-

group of the Shellfish Forum, specifically

focusing on areas that could potentially be suitable

for shellfish cultivation. I’m sure those present

would agree that there was plenty energy round

the table, but not a great deal of consensus as to

how we progress further. One outcome was that a

questionnaire be sent out to existing leaseholders,

so you have no doubt seen this by now. Thank you

very much to the two individuals who have

responded, I hope more of you will do likewise

soon!

When I say that I was back in Victoria Quay

The Grower — 3

again on 22nd February for the Marine Strategy

Forum you could be excused for thinking that I

spend too much time there! However, it is where

decisions are made about the future, and I feel I

have to be there to ensure our sector is not

overlooked. As aquaculture moves into what was

the Common Fisheries Policy there are both threats

and opportunities. The current structure for

engaging with Brussels will move from the various

Working Groups (which include EMPA) to the

proposed Aquaculture Advisory Council, which at

present seems to be an unworkable option. The

debate continues as to how it will function. I hope

to have an update next week at the UK

Aquaculture Forum in Cardiff.

On Sunday 24th I left home for the long journey

to Vigo in Spain for the second last meeting of the

BEADS project. I must say that this has been a

very interesting project, identifying bacteria that

consume algal toxins, and a method of delivering

these bacteria to the shellfish in a way that allows

them to be depurated. Whether it will be

financially viable or not remains uncertain, but it is

theoretically possible. However, the most

interesting part of the trip was a visit to Vigo port,

which is massive! We visited several shellfish

holding units, and a depuration plant. Depuration

time is 11 hours, using water purified using

chlorine. Simple, clean and efficient. Where did we

go wrong with our interpretation of EU Directives?

As you may expect I was eating shellfish a lot, and

it was all delicious, no negative after effects, or

taste of chlorine!

7th of March I was back at Cairndow for our

ASSG management committee meeting. ASSG is

very fortunate to have members who are willing to

give their time free of charge to further the aims of

your association. One of the challenges for me is

working in isolation, and the committee are both

supportive and challenging, which is very

important. One issue which has not gone away

during my time in this post is our core funding. We

are surviving on a wing and a prayer, which is not

sustainable. We will no doubt discuss this at the

AGM.

Final meeting for this report was the Marine

Protected Areas Working Group, which I was

asked to be part of, and was happy to accept. Again

at Victoria Quay, on 8th March. Surprisingly I will

need to sign a Confidentiality Agreement, meaning

I cannot reveal any of the draft papers to you,

unless you sign it also! Rest assured I will fight our

corner, working to ensure that shellfish cultivation

will be a permitted activity in an MPA.

That’s it for now, please come to the workshop

and the AGM!

Best Wishes,

Walter

ASSG Subscriptions If you have not yet paid, subscriptions

are now due.

Growers £250

Associates £100

Application forms are downloadable

from the web site and this will tell you

how you can pay. Find the web site at

www.assg.org.uk

Many thanks to those members who

have paid promptly

The Grower — 4

1. EU Audit of shellfish controls As readers may be aware, the Food and Veterinary

Office (FVO) of the European Commission carried out

an audit of UK official controls of Live Bivalve

Molluscs (LBMs) in April 2012. The final FVO report

was issued on 10 October 2012 and is available on the

Commission’s website at: http://ec.europa.eu/food/

fvo/index_en.cfm.

Whilst the focus of the audit was on how the Food

Standards Agency and local authorities apply controls

relating shellfish, the audit team also noted a number of

issues for food businesses and harvesters. The FSA has

asked local authorities to check that the issues listed are

being addressed by businesses. The areas to be

addressed include:

Registration documents An original registration document (not a copy) must

accompany batches of LBMs from point of harvesting

up to and including the arrival of the batch at a dispatch

centre or processing establishment.

Food business operators (FBOs) must only accept

batches of LBMs if they are accompanied by original

documentation with the relevant information. The

registration document must be completed fully in

English to enable each batch to be traced to source.

Registration documents accompanying products

destined for other Member States are required to be in

the language of the receiving country.

The accuracy of information provided on registration

documents must be verified by FBOs on receipt of

batches of LBMs. Official control LBM monitoring

data is available on the Food Standards Agency website

and information contained on registration documents

can be cross referenced with that which is published.

End-product testing FBOs will already be aware that LBMs placed on the

market must meet the end product standards laid down

in EU Hygiene Regulations. The Regulations do not

prescribe a frequency for end product testing, but this

should be in line with the business’s food safety

management system. There are a number of kits and

tests available and information on them has been

provided by the FSA at the following link:

www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/

endproducttestshellfishtoxin.pdf

FSA in Scotland has requested that enforcement

officers carry out assessments of risk management

procedures applied by food business and their system of

“own checks”. Where it is identified that they are

insufficient to ensure the product is safe, immediate

remedial action will be instigated.

HACCP procedures in approved establishments

For shellfish purification systems food business

operators should be able to demonstrate that the critical

controls in the depuration system have been identified

and that the risks are being managed in accordance with

the written procedures they have developed. These

procedures must be based on the HACCP principles and

that any documents describing the procedures developed

are up-to-date at all times for inspection by enforcement

officers.

2. Biotoxin and Phytoplankton Trigger Levels

From January 2013, the FSA in Scotland has

introduced biotoxin ‘trigger levels’ due to the change in

monitoring frequency from weekly to monthly in

January and February (for lipophilic toxins) and on an

area by area basis for ASP and PSP. In general where

monitoring frequencies are less than weekly, additional

monitoring will be required when a Biotoxin or

Phytoplankton ‘trigger level’ is breached. Breach of a

‘trigger level’ (detection of toxins in a flesh sample at a

level above the half of the regulatory limit - see levels

below for all three groups of toxins) will prompt

collection of an additional flesh sample. Phytoplankton

‘trigger levels’ will also remain in place:

Biotoxin & Phytoplankton flesh ‘trigger levels’:

These will be reviewed for the start of 2014.

3. Minor revisions to FSAS Biotoxin

Risk Assessment from April 2013 FSAS have made minor revisions to sampling and

analysis frequencies (for ASP and PSP) for certain

pacific oyster areas. This followed a statistical analysis

of data using models previously applied to mussel areas

and it will apply from April. Further details regarding

those areas monitored exclusively using pacific oysters

Important update from FSA Scotland

ASP ≥ 10mg Domoic/epi-Domoic acid per kg shell-

fish flesh

Pseudo-nitzschia ≥50,000 cells/litre of Pseudo-

nitzschia

Lipophilic toxins : OA/DTX/PTX≥80 µg per kg shell-

fish flesh

AZA≥80 µg

YTX≥0.5mg

Dinophysis ≥100 cells/litres of Dinophysis

Prorocentrum lima (P.lima) ≥100 cells/litres of P.

lima

PSP ≥400µg STX eq. per kg shellfish flesh

The Grower — 5

have been sent to sampling officers and further details

are available from FSAS.

4. Change to the recording of

Unverified E. coli samples – from

February 2013 In April 2012 we asked that samples which were

collected by harvesters be noted as ‘unverified’ on the

sample form – with no OS grid reference attached .

However it has since been identified that not recording

OS grid references for unverified E. coli samples can

impact on the data used for sanitary surveys and

ultimately on the findings of the report itself. For sites

where E. coli samples are collected by harvesters for

official control purposes, FSAS now require the actual

location of sampling to still be recorded where possible

as an OS grid reference.

Dormant status Current FSAS’ guidance advises that where a

sampling officer has intelligence that there is no

prospect of harvesting in the medium to long term (6

months) they should immediately discuss options for

future sampling plans with FSAS for placing the area

into a ‘dormant status’. The harvester should be made

aware that the FSAS requires two clear biotoxin samples

(a minimum of one week apart) below the regulatory

action level prior to harvesting recommencing. The

sampling officer will continue to collect E. coli samples

from the production area to ensure that classification is

maintained. Linked to this the Agency has a programme

of sanitary surveys with Cefas commissioned which will

survey all production areas by the end of 2015. Before

survey work commences FSAS needs to know that the

areas concerned will be commercially viable in order to

target resources appropriately. Some harvesters will

already have been contacted about their harvesting

intentions by local authorities. The same question will

be asked of all harvesters who have not had a survey or

may not be harvesting for other reasons. The provision

of this intelligence by harvesters helps the FSA use its

resources effectively.

5. Fast Track Classifications Current FSAS’ guidance on classification does not

specify the number of samples required before a ‘fast-

track’ classification is awarded.

From April 2012 FSAS confirmed that a minimum of

4 samples should be collected, 1 week apart prior to ‘fast

track’ classification. Provided all 4 samples return ‘A’ or

‘B’ results, a ‘fast track’ classification will be awarded.

Should any of these samples return a ‘C’ result, then a

‘fast track’ classification will not be awarded and the

applicant must submit a standard classification

application form should they wish to fish from the area.

As per existing guidance, monthly samples must be

submitted for the 4 month duration of the ‘fast track’

award to maintain the classification. Again, if a ‘C’

result is received during the 4 month period or the

required samples are not submitted, the classification is

immediately rescinded.

6. Biotoxin text alerts to mobile

phone For a few years now the FSA had discussed

proposals that would provide a real time biotoxin alert

system direct to mobile phones for anyone wishing to

receive such a service. With advances in technology

that time has now come! FSAS propose to manage a

twitter account – FSASBiotoxins – which will be used

as a one-way text alert service for anyone with an

interest in ‘actionable’ Scotland biotoxin results.

You do not need to use Twitter or have a computer

to use this service.

Twitter allows for subscribers on 02, Orange, Three,

and Vodafone networks to subscribe to a twitter feed.

This feed would post only those results that are over the

maximum permitted level for biotoxins, or those results

that otherwise re-open an area. This would provide a

means of shortening communication lines between

FSAS, local authorities and shellfish harvesters. It

would also simply mirror, in shorthand, emails that are

currently sent out to interested parties, by FSAS on a

daily basis.

How to subscribe/unsubscribe If you are on the Orange, Vodafone, 02 or 3

networks, and wish to subscribe, all you need to do is

text:

“follow FSASBiotoxins” to 86444

You should only be charged the cost of routine texts

under your existing mobile payment plan, but please do

check and confirm for yourself. You do not need a

smart phone to receive this service.

If you wish to stop these texts coming through, text:

“off@FSASBiotoxins”

This service does not replace the traditional and

more detailed email notifications that will continue to

issue from the Food Standards Agency in Scotland

office and is intended as a summary text service only.

This will start in the first week in March. Feedback

from users would be welcome by the end of July.

Jennifer Howie

Head of Shellfish Unit

Food Safety, Monitoring and Policy Branch

Food Standards Agency in Scotland

St Magnus House

Aberdeen

AB116NJ

Tel: 01224 285157

Mob: 07990788501

www.eatwellscotland.org

The Grower — 6

Please note that

registrations for

APA13 will include attendance to the IOS5, so simply

register for APA13. Abstract submission is also via the

APA13 submission process. When prompted indicate

that the abstract is intended for "oysters" or note IOS5 in

the "special sessions" category. To qualify for Member

Rate, we encourage you to join our society.

All of the Information including the deadlines for

registrations is now available on APA13 website.

www.was.org/WasMeetings/meetings/Default.aspx?

code=APA2013

We look forward to welcoming you in Ho Chi Minh

City, Vietnam in December.

Secretariat The World Oyster Society (WOS)

www.worldoyster.org/index_e.html

We are pleased to inform you that the 5th

International Oyster Symposium (IOS5) is being held in

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December 10-13, 2013.

The theme for the conference is "Positioning for Profit".

The IOS5 is being held jointly with Asian Pacific

Aquaculture 2013 (APA13) in the same venue, Saigon

Exhibition and Convention Center. This conference will

enable academics, researchers and farmers from all over

the world to present research and skills in each oyster

session.

This two day event will feature keynote addresses as

well as oral and poster presentations. WOS encourages

presentations by young researchers and based on the

presentations made, the society will present young

researcher awards.

In addition to the scientific program, there will be

opportunities for all participants to network with

colleagues through the conference.

Dates for your diary:

Shellfish Association of Great Britain

Annual Conference

Fishmongers’Hall, London Bridge

21-22nd May 2013

Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers

Annual Conference

Corran Halls, Oban

2-3rd October 2013

World Oyster Society Meeting

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam,

December 10-13, 2013

Contact details Editor Janet H Brown, 2 Annfield Grove,

Stirling, FK8 2BN

jan.brown@dsl.pipex.com

Chairman: Walter Speirs, Muckairn Mussels,

Achnacloich, Connel, Argyll, PA37 1PR

walter.speirs@btconnect.com

Treasurer

Stephen Cameron, stephenc@scottishshellfish.co.uk

Other members of management committee;-

David Attwood david.attwood@lochfyne.com

Nick Turnbull nick.iomo@btinternet.com

Cree MacKenzie ‎.. cree@scaliscro.co.uk

Tristan Hugh-Jones.. tristan@oysters.co.uk

Congress available at www.oysterworldcongress2012.com/

le-congres/photos-2

The presentations are also all available at

www.oysterworldcongress2012.com/telechargements/

telechargements-2/?lang=en

There is also at the same location a complete summary

of the Congress prepared by the rapporteurs and

chairmen of each session which provides a very useful

overview of the proceedings. Take a look!

The 5th International Oyster Symposium

News from the World Oyster Society re forthcoming meeting in Vietnam December 2013

Many of the members of the ASSG who receive this

newsletter as a hard copy, and even more of the folk

who receive the newsletter via the ASSG web site and

mailing list (see www.assg.org. uk ) attended the Oyster

World Congress in Arcachon in December 2012. They

may like to revive happy memories by viewing the very

nice video available at

www.oysterworldcongress2012.com/le-congres/video/?

lang=e

Many readers can indeed to be seen on the video!

There is also a collection of 55 photographs from the

2012 Oyster World Congress, Arcachon

The Grower — 7

Rope grown mussels from the Scottish Shellfish

Marketing Group enjoyed a great reception from

consumers during Sainsbury’s recent ‘Switch the Fish’

campaign.

During the initiative, the supermarket gave away

free samples of less popular types of seafood to anyone

who bought one of the ‘big five’ eating varieties of cod,

haddock, tuna, salmon and prawns. Scottish rope grown

mussels was one of the alternative types of seafood

selected for the free sample give-away, and according to

Rob Mitchell of SSMG, they went down a treat with

shoppers.

“The Switch the Fish campaign was a great success

and it really highlighted to consumers the fantastic taste

of mussels and their simplicity in cooking,” he says.

“The feedback we have had from Sainsbury’s was very

positive and we are hopeful that this campaign will have

played an important role in ensuring that consumers

broaden their horizons when purchasing seafood.

“We are particularly proud of the sustainability

credentials of our Scottish rope-grown mussels, which

also seems to appeal to consumers.”

SSMG mussels are independently certified by both

the Marine Stewardship Council and the Friend of the

Sea for the environmentally-friendly manner in which

they are grown.

More information on SSMG at

www.scottishshellfish.co.uk

Switch the Fish campaign a big success for Scottish mussels

Shellfish Work

Experience

Could you offer students shellfish industry

experience? The Institute of Aquaculture, University of

Stirling are creating a directory of hosts willing to offer

students work experience. The directory will be

available to students registered on aquaculture courses

via the University web system. The idea is that

interested students could get in touch with a contact at

the host organisation to ask if it might be possible to

undertake a work experience placement at a mutually

convenient time and period. Placements would be

during the student’s holidays and would be carried out

on an entirely voluntary basis.

From the students perspective such work experience

provides opportunity to gain invaluable skills and

knowhow and they will hopefully be more proficient

and desirable employees of the future. Taking students

on for placements will hopefully also be advantageous

to hosts, as students will be expected to work hard and

fully contribute to the work environment during their

visits.

The Institute is keen to represent all aspects of the

shellfish industry within the directory. If you are

interested in becoming a host please contact Jessica

Mehers at j.j.mehers@stir.ac.uk

The Grower — 8

Notes from ‘Down Under’

Doug McLeod

Editor, Australian SeaFOOD Magazine; Managing Director, Glenelg Shellfish, - Aquaculture Consultants

This Sunday marks both St Patrick’s Day and the

start of the ICMSS 2013 event in Sydney, which

somehow feels appropriate (not sure why – I’ll think

about that on the plane!). The Conference looks like

being a success, with Registrations exceeding 200

delegates from over 20 countries, a series of interesting

topics with well known speakers (and some new faces

too!) and two practical Workshops as well as a Field

Trip to an oyster producing area (the Hawkesbury

River).

I shall be delivering a presentation on ‘Adding

value throughout the supply chain, which will be my 6th

presentation to an ICMSS audience, 7th if I include the

‘unofficial’ meeting held in Port Clear, Alabama, two

weeks before Hurricane Katrina hit the southern USA.

My thesis is that there are a multitude of ways to add

value to molluscan shellfish – this means raising

quality, improving safety, enhancing freshness and

expanding the consumer experience of shellfish.

The ways to add value range across the supply

chain, from production improvements (technical,

genetic, etc), optimised transport (appropriate

containers, temperature and percussion monitoring, etc)

and appropriate market focussed processing (half shell

oysters, fully prepared mussels in sauces, etc) to retail

presentation and promotion.

Collaboration between scientists, regulators and

industry is a major way to add value to our products, as

safety – in terms of absence of bacteria, vibrio, viruses,

heavy metals, etc - must rank high on priorities for

consumer satisfaction!

I will report on the Conference experience in the

next issue of The Grower!!

The Ninth International Conference on Molluscan

shellfish safety is being held from 17-22 March 2013 at

the Bayview Hotel in Sydney. The full programme can

be downloaded from the conference website-

www.icmss2013.com/program.html

The Grower — 9

President of CNC resigns

M. Goulven Brest, the President of the Comité

Nationale de la Conchyliculture,(CNC) the very much

larger French equivalent of the ASSG, has written a 6

page letter of resignation to M. Frederic Cuvillier,

Junior Minister for Transport and the Marine Economy

in the French Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable

Development and Energy. After 15 years as President,

and having been re-elected in June 2010, he expressed

considerable frustration at the lack of protection for

shellfish waters. Another concern was promotion of

triploid oysters by researchers in Ifremer while many of

the French industry are opposed to their use and a

general dissatisfaction with lack of practical support

with dealing with their oyster disease problems. His

resignation will be effective from June 19th 2013 when

the next council meeting takes place.and when election

of a new president among the CNC membership will

also takes place. The CNC is the representative body

for all shellfish sector operators (production-market)

and it is created by a French law. All shellfish growers

are obliged to be members of CNC , and its

membership totals 4583 persons exploiting “parcs”.

Goulven Brest, President of the CNC at the World

Oyster Congress in Arcachon last December

The Grower — 10

The Grower — 11

The Grower — 12

Shellfish innovations in Holland

Janet H Brown reports

A chance meeting at the NACE/ICSR joint

aquaculture conference in Mystic, Connecticut last

December (for report see page 19) led to a highly

instructive day’s visit to Yerseke, Holland tied in with

the visit to the native oyster hatchery workshop

organised by Oysterecover (see page 15). The chance

encounter was with Marco Huissen, technical adviser of

Murre Techniek b.v. as we took a field trip to a mussel

processing plant in Rhode Island. He suggested that if I

was impressed there, I should see the Dutch version.

But Marco had also very generously arranged a number

of other very interesting visits which I can share with the

Grower readership!

Inland shellfish farming

The first visit was to an inland shellfish farm. Why

an inland shellfish farm? It may be indicative of the

huge pressures the Dutch shellfish industry have felt

themselves under that radical efforts were needed and

this was one of the major shellfish processors, Prins &

Dingemanse’s many forward-planning attempts to

secure their future supplies of shellfish. The Dutch

shellfish industry has a long history that relies on

dredging bottom seed mussels and transferring them to

the growers’ own plots for ongrowing. Pressure against

this seed collection has been growing over recent years

and it is now forbidden from the intertidal areas and is

due to be fully outlawed from any part of the sea bed by

2020. This inland farm, Zeeland Aquaculture, was set up

5 years ago in partnership with Roem van Yerseke, and

it is still at research stage.

Ronald de Vos, the Aquaculture manager for Prins &

Dingemanse showed me around in pouring rain. He said

that nothing shows you quite how much is done for you

in the sea as when you try to reproduce it on land. They

have so far learnt a lot on controlling water quality. The

biggest problem for them, as you might well imagine, is

providing enough algae and initially they planned to buy

algae from off-site. They couldn’t find anyone to supply

the amount or the particular species they required

however so they have developed their own system such

that they can now produce it at a very good cost price.

They started culturing 26 different species of algae but

they have now settled on 5 – (but are not telling anyone

which ones!). What is also crucial is the level of algae

supplied. This is something well known from old

shellfish research, that manipulating levels of feed can

affect what type of growth oysters display, and at

Zeeland Aquaculture they can manipulate the level of

algae to best suit just growth or best conditioning –

again this is their IP and they are not volunteering (yet)

the information which has been so expensively

obtained.

In the tanks/ponds they grow Pacific oysters and

Manila clams but native oysters also do well in the

system. The Pacifics go from first stocking to market

size in 15-19 months and surprisingly this growth rate

is much the same for the native flat oyster. Ronald said

that it is generally thought that oysters will not grow

below a certain temperature; they find however that

since they are providing the food they do still grow

even when it is really cold. Generally a rainy day like

Figure 1; The onshore shellfish farm at Zeeland

Aquaculture photo J H Brown

Figure 2; Algal production is the biggest problem. This

is one production raceway. Photo J H Brown

Figure 3; Marco Huissen and Ronald de Vos

The Grower — 13

the day I was there,with temperatures around 8-10˚C are

worse for growth than a sunny day at -10˚C.

The Manila clam does not grow as well, taking 18-

24 months to market size but Ronald feels that there is a

lot of improvement still possible for them. While the

oysters are grown in trays on the bottom of the ponds

the clams have a sandy substrate provided for them to

burrow into.

Prins & Dingemanse has farms in other parts of

Holland and have trialled suspended oyster culture but

the Dutch industry is very much oriented to dredging

since they farm on their plots of sea bed they rent from

the crown, and cleaning the bags once fouled is

apparently too much like hard work for the automation

minded Dutch!! [Marco Huissen also told me that there

is another major reason for this lack of interest in

suspended culture and that is that all structures have to

be removed from the water column by law by the end of

October - clearly a strong disincentive for suspended

culture!]

Despite all their work, the current price to produce the

land grown oyster is twice that of the normal sea

produced ones at the present time. Ronald said that the

marketing people can work on this to increase the price

– added value and since they are providing all the food

they can engineer different qualities in the oysters. The

land reared oysters are marketed as “Caresse” oysters

indicating the extra care and personalised diet they have

received! The “Caresse” oysters won the prestigious

Seafood Prix d’Elite in the food service category at the

Brussels Seafood show in 2012.

Some things however remain the same. They still

need to grade the oysters despite all the feed being

supplied. The water comes by pipeline pumped under

the city of Yerseke and is filtered to 5μm to keep other

species out. They recirculate 80% of the water and have

a complete reservoir for reconditioning (figure 4).

Growing shellfish on land did seem to me very

counter-intuitive. For one thing the marine environment

loses all the ecosystem services that the shellfish can

provide. I did suggest one benefit was that the farmer

could always be free of any closures whether from poor

water quality or HABs but Ronald said that there were

not a problem in Holland anyway. So it will be

interesting to see which way this farm goes, whether it

is the start of a trend or specialist one-off that can cater

to a market willing to pay absolute premium prices.

Certainly the “Caresse” oyster has provided a very

positive indication of this.

Shellfish promotion

On my tour Marco very adroitly timed a visit to

Oesterij for lunch time. By this time the sun was

shining and it was good to see a site in the process of

being converted from what were recently derelict

offices and oyster holding tanks into what is essentially

an information and tourist centre including restaurant,

promoting shellfish. Our host for the visit was Jean

Dhooge whose family have farmed mussels for over

100 years. He and his brother had started Oesterij in

April 2012 but even before it is completed they are

getting many visitors including one organised by the

local tourist office for 400 people! To get from the

restaurant area down to the tanks and up the other side

to the information “warehouses” is quite a climb so

they plan to provide a bridge over the holding tanks,

Figure 5; Marco Huissen with Jean Dhooge of Oesterij

Figure 4 Reservoir for reconditioning the 80%

recirculated water

Figure 6 Jean poses for me in front of a wall constructed

of collection tiles, obsolete since the big wipe-out of the

native oyster in 1963. The natives do however appear to

be making a comeback in recent years.

The Grower — 14

mainly for disabled access.

They had got one display area set up explaining the

mussel industry and plan to do the same for the oyster

industry in a similar building. They have some great

photos for that of ancient landings of native oyster so I

would very much like to see the final display. With the

pressure on collection of mussel seed being uppermost

on the minds of the farmers in Holland we talked about

methods of seed collection – collecting on rope is

proving expensive for them at around 60-70 cents per

kg seed. One surprising sight was seeing all the boxes

of native oysters which Jean said was definitely making

a come-back after a complete wipe-out in 1963 with the

extreme winter then. And it is much sought after in the

Netherlands. We finished the tour in the restaurant

when I could fully appreciate Marco’s foresight as I was

presented with 3 delicious native oysters, a glass of

white wine and then a large bowl of steaming hot

mussels, all perfectly delicious.

Mussel processing

Seeing Dutch mussel processing was all I had

expected to see on this trip but I was still not expecting

the degree of automation I saw at the most recently

updated of all the processors systems and the best way

of presenting this is pictorially so please see the photo

report on pages 16 and 17. We were shown around by

Annette van der Kooij of Krijn Verwijs Yerseke b.v

which is a company that take their responsibility to

sustainable production very seriously, having been the

first company to get MSC accreditation – for the bottom

grown mussels of the Menai Strait. In addition they

have acquired MSC Chain of Custody certificates for

the processing and packaging of these mussels They

also process organic certified mussels from Ireland and

have year round mussel production and processing

marketed under the Premier label and Premier Premium

Quality for catering outlets. It is a long established

company first set up in 1880 as a oyster breeding

company. They are the largest mussel producers in

Holland also with production areas in UK, Ireland and

the German Wadden Sea and also process and market a

number of other shellfish and marine products.

(www.krijnverwijs.com)

I was also shown the oyster processing at Prins &

Dingemanse by Martijn van der Sluijs as the finale to an

amazing day. One of my other visits was to a fully

automated turbot farm which if you are interested in

you can read about in Fish Farmer magazine for March/

April.

I am extremely grateful to Marco Huissen of Murre

Techniek b.v, (www.murre.nl) a company well known

for their total solution for shellfish processing and with

an sales office in Canada www.formutech.ca/ I am

hoping he will be coming to the ASSG conference in

October to talk about their Easyfarm system and issues

in Dutch shellfish farming.

Figure 7; The author tests the product at Oesterij –

delicious

Figure 8; Traditional packaging for native oysters at

Prins & Dingemans

Shellfish Innovations in Holland—continued

The Grower — 15

Oysterecover native oyster hatchery workshop in Yerseke Janet H Brown reports

Oysterecover is an industry–led project set up to aid

conservation of the native oyster (see Grower December

2012). While the main focus of the project is to

understand the main problem affecting oyster stocks, the

Bonamia ostreae parasite, there is a concern that without

hatchery intervention, recovery of stocks is not going to

be possible. Hence the workshop on hatchery technique

set up in Yerseke, Holland at the end of January. The

full account and presentations will be available at the

Oysterecover web site at www.oysterecover.eu/

The workshop covered presentations from the

industry perspective with David Hugh Jones talking

about his work over many years in Cork and Mathieu

Hussenot talking about demands for native oysters and

activities in production in France. René Robert of

Ifremer talked on both broodstock management and

conditioning and then on larval nutrition. Stefano

Carboni of Viking Fish Farms at Ardtoe presented

information on their work and the talking part of the day

concluded with a presentation from Luz Pérez-Parallé on

problems faced during metamorphosis and settlement.

The 31 participants then visited the Roem van

Yerseke hatchery and were shown around by native

oyster enthusiast Frank Peene. While the main thrust of

the hatchery is to produce Crassostrea gigas seed it was

clear our guide was happy to devote what time he could

to the native oyster. Certainly from my observations

from the previous day in Yerseke (pages 12-14)

demand for native oysters in Holland was very strong

so maybe he will get his wish to be able to produce

more Ostrea edulis seed.

Pictured below—on left Frank Peene explains the

hatchery to Annelies Pronker, Craig Burton and Sarah

Culloty

Below from left, Jaap de Rooij, Christiaan van Sluis,

Craig Burton, Jens Petersen and Sharon Lynch

Workshop on oyster herpes virus and biosecurity in Oban (with ASSG AGM)

The ASSG is organising a workshop to provide an

update on current knowledge of the oyster herpes and its

impacts in France, England and N. Ireland and to

provide a forum to air our own concerns and to discuss

best means to protect Scotland from this and other

threats. Speakers will include Dr Mike Gubbins of

CEFAS talking on the oyster herpes situation in

England, Fabrice Richez giving us the inside story from

France while Martin Flanigan will tell us about what

practical measures they are putting in place in N. Ireland

including on-farm research methods. While oyster

herpes tends to get most attention, a recent scientific

publication from Marine Scotland gives a timely

reminder that oysters are not the only species under

threat since if Marteilia, now found in England, were to

be introduced here, the effects could be far more

catastrophic. One of the authors of this paper, Mar

Marcos-Lopez from Marine Scotland will complete the

programme of speakers talking on biosecurity and

threats we need to keep well in mind. Janet Brown who

will be chairing the workshop hopes that the speakers

will provoke much debate from the audience with a view

to deciding if any actions are necessary or whether

awareness will suffice. The workshop will be held in

Oban, April 16th with registration from 9am and with the

meeting starting at 10am. Lunch will be provided and

the AGM will follow at 14.30.

Non members are also welcome to attend but there

will be a charge for non-members of £20. Please

register your interest if a member, or register and pay if

a non-member via the website www.assg.org.uk

The Grower — 16

Mussel processing—Dutch style Janet Brown reports pictorially

1. Mussels arrive at Krijn Verwijs Yerseke b.v. from

rewatering sites off Yerseke

2 and 3. Lifting off into the processing plant as

operated remotely as shown below

4. The remote operation allows the mussels to be

slotted into a gap for depuration

5 and 6. From the depuration they move up for

preliminary separating and cleaning and then on

conveyor below to next stage of the operation

Pictures from a visit to the largest and most up to date

processor in Holland, Krijn Verwijs Yerseke b.v.

This has been very recently renovated and the capacity

has increased by 25% with the new machinery. They

can now process 8-9 tonnes per hour.

More information is in the report on pages 13 and 14.

The Grower — 17

7 and 8. While the mussels are all moved from stage to

stage automatically visual checking is still essential—

above and below

9. Final size sorting through griddles

10. Final quality check before fully automated

packaging as shown below

11. Final product ready for shipping

The updating work was done in conjunction with Murre

Techniek b.v. Their expertise is turn-key delivery of a

total concept and supply complete processing lines

tailored to specific requirements. They do not only

apply their own machines but also make use of other

suppliers’ products, acting as a contact for these

suppliers. They can thus provide their clients with a

processing line fully tailored to their needs which is,

above all, failure-free and low-maintenance. In addition

their communication lines are short so clients will

always be in contact with the right person. This personal

approach keeps everyone, including the mechanics in

the workshop, involved. The main principles of their

concept are:

Sustainability

Low maintenance

Proven technology

Labour cost reduction

The Grower — 18

The Seafood Training Academy – new course

Following collaborative work between the Sea Fish

Industry Authority and the Southern and Scottish

Shellfish Training Centres, a new Training Course has

been developed for Managers of bivalve purification

and despatch centres. This management training

programme is a mix of theory and practical activity

delivered over three days by trainers from the Southern

and Scottish STCs. The training programme also

provides a route to achieving the Level 3 Award in

Bivalve Purification Operations Management. The

course is aimed at managers working in bivalve

purification businesses, but is also suitable for

individuals seeking to establish such businesses and

even inspection personnel who wish to progress their

development beyond the FSA approved 2-day shellfish

hygiene for EHOs training course. For further details

please go to www.seafoodacademy.org/BVP%

20management.htm

Neogen develops simple tests for shellfish toxins

Neogen Europe Ltd. has added to its comprehensive

range of tests for the seafood industry with the

introduction of rapid tests to detect the toxins that cause

amnesic shellfish poisoning (ASP) and diarrhetic

shellfish poisoning (DSP).

Neogen’s new Reveal® 2.0 for ASP detects ASP-

causing toxins at a level of 20 parts per million (ppm),

and Reveal 2.0 for DSP detects DSP-causing toxins at

160 parts per billion (ppb). Both are one-step rapid

tests, and are compatible with U.S. Food and Drug

Administration (FDA) and European Union

Commission permitted levels.

Both new shellfish toxin tests offer easy extraction

processes, meaning they are on-site field tests capable

of being used on a boat, and are used with Neogen’s

innovative AccuScan® Pro Reader that provides

consistently accurate and reliable results.

“The combination of the new tests and test reader

provide an unparalleled ease in achieving consistently

accurate results when testing for these toxins,” said

Neogen Europe’s Steve Chambers. “The AccuScan Pro

Reader completely eliminates the variance in

interpreting test results that can exist when only using a

visual appraisal, especially with inexperienced testers.

It also provides a very easy method of storing and

analysing test results — which is becoming increasingly

required as many nations move to reduce the risk posed

by these shellfish toxins.”

Toxins that cause ASP are produced by toxigenic

diatoms of the genus Pseudo-nitzschia, and primarily

include domoic acid (DA). In addition to contamination

of seafood, these marine biotoxins can result in human

and marine wildlife mortality. The clinical toxicological

effects attributed to DA can include: permanent loss of

short-term memory, nausea, vomiting, headache,

disorientation and loss of balance. Most countries have

currently established a maximum permitted level of 20

mg DA per kg whole shellfish (20 ppm).

Toxins that cause DSP include the okadaic acid

(OA) group of toxins. OA is produced by marine

dinoflagellates such as Dinophysis, and has structural

analogs referred to as the dinophysistoxins (DTXs).

Clinical toxicological effects attributed to DSP

following consumption of contaminated seafood

includes diarrhea, nausea and vomiting. The established

EU maximum permitted levels are 160 µg OA

equivalents (OA, DTXs, pectenotoxins) per kg shellfish

meat (160 ppb). FDA action limits are 160 µg (160 ppb)

OA equivalents (OA, DTXs) in shellfish. Reveal 2.0 for

DSP’s rapid screen is validated to detect OA, DTX1 and

DTX2. Due to industry regulations, Neogen can provide

an additional validated extraction for the detection of

DTX3 in shellfish samples.

Neogen Europe Ltd., the European subsidiary of

Neogen Corporation (NASDAQ: NEOG), is a high

technology business dedicated to the development and

marketing of novel diagnostic kits. These kits focus on

topical concerns about the quality and safety of food

and agricultural products, from the quality of seed that

goes into the ground, right through the chain to the

safety of fully processed food products. Neogen Europe

was awarded the Queens Award for Enterprise for

international trade and development, one of the highest

awards bestowed on a UK company.

The Grower — 19

ICSR 2012 joint meeting in Mystic, USA

Janet H Brown reports

The 15th International Conference for Shellfish

restoration took place in Mystic, Connecticut in

December 2012, too late for inclusion in the last

Grower. This time it was held in conjunction with two

other conferences, partly through funding constraints

but more importantly for reasons of synergy and cross

fertilisation. It was a most successful meeting with the

theme “Aquaculture and Restoration – a Partnership”.

The American meetings are usually held in

Charleston South Carolina and it is certainly pleasant to

get a touch of southern sunshine in the winter, but

taking the train from New York to New London, just a

two hours hop did stress to me how much easier it was

to get to Mystic rather than the two days journey I took

by train to Charleston two years ago!

The other partners were the NACE (Northeast

Aquaculture Conference and Exposition) and the 33rd

Milford Aquaculture Seminar. Since the bulk of

aquaculture in this part of USA is shellfish farming

anyway the commonality of interests was very great.

With 4 concurrent sessions no report could possibly

give a fair representation of the conference but one

strong message to the aquaculturists was to get with the

politics, and not to get left out by being unprepared for

changes as the production from aquaculture outstrips

that of wild fisheries.

With the conference being held in a hotel rather

isolated from other facilities, there was a need for

evening entertainment after a packed programme of

talks. Some of the participants rose magnificently to the

challenge with their tales of aquaculture disasters;

competing for the prize of “dismal failure” some even

given in disguise to try to hide their embarrassment!

But while all the tales were hugely entertaining the prize

was awarded via an appropriately unscientific human

clapometer to Sandy Macfarlane for her well known tale

of trying to get clams to breed in what looked like a

privy set in the scenic waters of Cape Cod. Musical

entertainment was also provided by the impromptu

shellfish band.

A lobster bake completed the social events in a most

satisfying way (see back page!).

Once again, attending the ICSR conference

highlighted to me how the USA approach to shellfish

restoration is light years ahead of anything in Europe

and to attend a whole session on “Shellfish restoration

metrics of success” – how to measure the effectiveness

of restoration as an essential part of getting further

funding and for assessing benefits of certain methods

makes a visitor from Europe feel like one is visiting a

parallel universe.

What was also quite striking was that the NACE part

of the conference had sessions that basically addressed

the “how to” of setting up in aquaculture with farmers

and equipment suppliers on hand to discuss practical

issues. These sessions were packed out.

There was also a variety of field trips organised for

the start of the conference which were all very well

received. I visited the American Mussel Harvesters,

Inc. processing plant, set up in 1988. Most of the

mussels are dredged from the wild but the company has

an increasing interest in developing mussel aquaculture.

Presentations will be available soon from

www.northeastaquaculture.org/

Contender for “dismal failure” award in disguise—

Bill Walton!

Impromptu music; from left John Ewart, Gary Wikfors,

Carter Newell and Jeff “Smokey” McKeen

On one of the field visits—from left Dana Morse,

Marco Huissen, Mike Chambers and Bill Silkes,

President of American Mussel Harvesters Inc. giving

the tour.

The Grower — 20

Pictured above; An oyster farm in Vietnam. Read on page 6 about the plans for the 5th International Oyster

Symposium (IOS5) to be held in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, December 10-13, 2013. The theme for the conference is

"Positioning for Profit".

The perfect social end to an International Conference

for Shellfish Restoration (ICSR) – a shellfish feast. It

only lacked the opportunity for dancing off the excess.

Pictured above, first time ICSR attendee, Sean Handley

of NIWA New Zealand, definitely the winner of the “I

travelled furthest to be here award” together with ICSR

regulars, Robert “Skid” Rheault, and Dot Leonard who

had done an excellent job organising this conference.

For full report see page 15. Hopefully there will be

much more competition for Sean’s mythical prize if the

plan to hold the 2014 ICSR in God’s Own comes about.

The Grower will be there to report for sure.

ICSR Lobster bake

Oyster farming in Vietnam

Seen on the field visit to American Mussel

Harvesters Inc. Are these small oysters or what? But

actually they are on their way to market. These are

marketed as gigamoto oysters – supposedly akin to the

highly sought after Kumamoto oysters, a Japanese

oyster cultured on the West coast of USA. The

Kumamoto oyster is highly sought after in USA as is the

European flat oyster marketed there as belon. But these

are straightforward Crassostrea gigas, albeit much

smaller and with much deeper cup. But even more

specialised types of oysters are becoming available,

even land reared oysters. (See page 12. )

Gigamoto oysters