The other side of the pond
that could change. Clam production has been essentially flat (as has the price) for many years. We used to sell quite a bit of shellfish in Europe and we see that EU markets could be quite lucrative for us now. How much expansion do you feel is possible? East Coast oyster production has doubled in the past five years and we could easily see that happen again in the next five years. Permitting sites has been a challenge in most states, but we are gaining acceptance and there is still a lot of water that could be made productive if we can resolve the user conflict issues. Is vibrio the main issue facing your members? It is definitely a challenge. We have gotten
very adept at eliminating illness from sewage related sources, but the naturally occurring bacteria like the vibrios are essentially unpre- dictable. We rarely detect pathogenic strains in the environment so screening (like we do for HABs) is not an option. The American con- sumer in general is less willing to accept any level of risk, and so we have to do our best to minimise the risk of illness. We are adapting. By icing product promptly we can eliminate post-harvest bac-
ECSGA FACTS
The East Coast Shellfish Growers Association represents over 1,000 shellfish farmers from Maine to Florida – mainly clam farmers (60%) and oyster farmers (40%) Among other
initiatives, the ECSGA has blocked the EPA’s attempt to
relax the rules on sewage discharge and blocked an
attempt to list the
Eastern oyster as an endangered species In 2007 the ECSGA formed the East Coast Shellfish Research Institute, a non-profit organisation dedicated to researching issues that impact the industry
terial growth which seems to be working. Is vibrio mainly a problem in relation to temperature? The list of vibrio challenges is immense. Some 99 per cent of the
strains are benign. We can’t detect the virulent ones. I have a page of research needs. Temperature is clearly involved, but there is a new strain that appears to be happy at lower temperatures. Do your regulators worry about norovirus? Norovirus is the leading cause of food-born illness, so the FDA is in the midst of a massive risk assessment for NoV. Fortunately, there are very few instances related to shellfish consumption. Is restoration part of the concern of your membership or is there a real split between restorers and aquaculturists? It took several years for my board to reach a consensus on whether
to support or oppose restoration in uncertified (closed) waters. There is a valid concern that poached restoration product might end up in the marketplace, where public confidence would be shaken and prices would plummet. Eventually, we were able to come out with a policy of conditional approval that emphasises the need for appropriate educa- tion and enforcement component. We support the idea of ecosystem services. I spend much of my time
trying to convince people to allow a farm to get established in front of someone’s waterfront mansion. If you can point out that the shellfish are good for fishing and water quality, that is often more important to some people than the jobs and nutritious seafood and economic devel- opment parts of the argument. What are relations with catchers like? When I started out I had my life threatened by some burly clam
harvesters. I could not understand why they felt threatened by me. I bear them no malice, but is has taken many years for them to realise aquaculture is an opportunity more than a threat. We showed them how to nursery culture seed and enhance their fishery and now we work together well. How do you feel about the ‘competition’ from the fishing industry in lobbying? We harbour no ill will towards fisher folk. We will never replace them.
We need to augment their contribution to meet the growing demands for global seafood. Their lobbying efforts in the US are often fragment- ed. As the fleet has been downsized, the allocation fights have pitted sector against sector. We work with the National Fisheries Institute on many national issues, but then we also work with the National Aqua- culture Association and the Farm Bureau.’ FF
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