Oyster farming was first developed in the late 1850’s as a response to the growing shortage of the mollusc. Pioneers of commercial farming discovered a way to produce oysters from fertilised seeds. The product of a lengthy two-to-four year process, the oyster larvae are cultivated on farms located in shallow seawater, such as bays or sounds. Today, oyster rearing is big business, with China being one of the world’s largest suppliers. Here bellow you can find some instructions, together with an incredible set of pictures we get from englishrussia.com that shows you a very basic home-made plant in Russian city Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk. Things you need : Large plastic buckets; Large commercial fishing tanks; Aquarium heaters; Cultches; Oyster racks and Refrigerated lockers. Directions: Gather the eggs from spawning oysters. Commercial farmed oysters will start producing fertilised eggs when the bay’s temperature reaches approximately 21.1 to 23.9 degrees Celsius (the spring and summer months). As the sperm fertilises the eggs they create a cylindrical formation, making them easier to collect. One 5-gallon bucket can gather up to 100 million fertilised eggs.
These eggs will take approximately 24 hours before they turn into larvae, and about two weeks before they are ready to be put on oyster lines. Chill the buckets to 4.44 degrees Celsius, which will coax the larvae into a dormant state. Pour the buckets of larvae into large commercial fish tanks, filled with the same sea or bay water which is rich in algae and phytoplankton. Slowly bring the temperature of the water up to approximately 26.7 degrees Celsius with an aquarium heater. Insert oyster lines, also known as “cultches,” into the tank. These are lines of metal wire that are threaded though clean empty oyster shells. Once the larvae adhere to the shells, the temperature of the tanks can be reduced to 21.1 degrees Celsius.
Transfer the oyster lines filled with “spats,” or baby oysters, to the outside oyster farm. Oyster farms have series of racks made from bamboo rods or wooden logs, which are arranged in a grid formation in the seawater. These racks are often placed in areas of the bay that contain high levels of sea grass and macroalgae beds, which recreates the oyster’s natural habitat and provides the oyster’s food. The spats will grow in this condition until they are mature. Pull the oyster lines to the surface and cut them from the rods after mollusc has matured. Though smaller oysters can be harvested after two years, commercial fisheries often wait until four years for larger, fully-matured oysters. Place identification tags on each line, and inspect the shell’s quality control before refrigerating them in crates at approximately 40 to 45 degrees Fahrenheit, until they are ready for distribution.
