Farming Shellfish

Farming Of Shellfish Boosts Industry's Image bcasper@StatesmanJournal.co  (BETH CASPER) Statesman Journal December 16, 2005 Via D. Alves Not all fish farming is bad, despite a public perception formed from how farmed salmon are raised, seafood experts say. Critics of salmon raised in pens say that fish dyes, supplemental feed and diseases pose a problem for the health of humans and the marine environment. In the case of shellfish, however, the farm-raised variety gets good grades. "There is this perception in the public that all fish farming is bad," said George Leonard, a science manager at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California. "Fish farming is an extremely diverse and complicated business -- there are different species, different ways of farming the same species and the same species farmed under different regulations around the world." The Monterey Bay Aquarium puts out a Seafood Watch card to help consumers make seafood purchases that are healthy for the environment. Farmed oysters land in the "Best Choices" category, the best of three categories. "In the case of shellfish, there are a couple of important things going for them," he said. "They don't use any fish meal or fish oil at all -- they simply draw nutrients from the water column themselves. ... And although they are grown in open systems, the issue of disease and escape aren't factors because shellfish are sedentary." Simply by virtue of the way oysters feed makes them beneficial to their environment. Oysters filter the water to get nutrients, which cleans the water near them. However, it also means that whatever is in the water ends up in the oyster. "Filtering is both a blessing and a curse," Leonard said. "They filter whatever is in the water column." Oregon and federal agencies regulate water quality -- particularly in areas with shellfish -- because of the filtering process. Oyster growers also understand the delicate balance between an oyster's health and the water's health. "It is often said that the shellfish industry is one of the biggest proponents of clean water because they want their shellfish in the cleanest water," Leonard said.