shellfish aquaculture
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down on the farm design seed socking growout harvest business plan

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Seed is fed into a custom-designed hopper that funnels the tiny mussels onto a growing line.


The seeded mussel line is fed into a mesh cotton sock that will keep it in place until the mussels can attach.


Researchers inspect density of seed to insure maximum yield.

socking

After several months on the seed collectors the mussels have grown to approximately 1 inch (25 mm), and are ready for the next step in the culture process. The tiny mussels are stripped from the collectors, de-clumped and sorted by size. They are then fed into a custom-designed seeding machine, based on New Zealand technology, that funnels the mussels into a distribution chamber.

A growout rope is pulled through this chamber where it picks up the mussel seed and then passes through a tube where the rope and seed are sheathed in biodegradable mesh cotton sock. The cotton socking material keeps the seed in place until the mussels have a chance to attach. The strong rope core allows farmers to extend the length of the growout lines and take advantage of vertical depth in the open ocean.



Copyright 2007, Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center, Durham, NH 03824
The Atlantic Marine Aquaculture Center is a partnership of the University of New Hampshire (UNH) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).