Resources Database

Report on the mud blister polychaete worm, Polydora websteri, including a description, life history, settlement, burrowing, treatments, and biosecurity.

A study compared how oysters grew in floating cages versus bottom cages that determined that generally oysters grew faster and survival and condition index were higher in floating gear.

Intended to help prospective farmers to identify, record, monitor, and manage production hazards, and ultimately minimize production-related risk. Discusses types of risk in aquaculture, record keeping, environmental conditions, biofouling organisms, predators, diseases, parasites, invasive species, and operational procedures.

Fact sheet designed to try to improve the growers knowledge on the process to contact a professional who can examine dead or dying shellfish to determine the cause and how to get the shellfish to them for analysis.

Fact sheet on Dermo disease, Perkinsus marinus, and MSX disease, Haplosporidium nelsoni, including geographic distribution, history, biology, epizootiology, environmental influences, control measures, and diagnostic methods.

Focuses primarily on the environmental sustainability of shellfish aquaculture including resource enhancement, habitat restoration, eutrophication, the impacts of farms on water quality, and harvest methods.

Aquaculture of softshell clams (Mya arenaria), also called “steamer clams”, has grown steadily and is becoming a significant industry in New England. Examined in this fact sheet are specific aspects of softshell clam production during the Hatchery Phase and a description of variations in management practices at three shellfish facilities: two in Massachusetts and one in Maine.

Reviews harmful algae blooms including conditions for biotoxin formation, detection, management, and common types of HAB's in the northeast.

Use this to create your own farm-specific Best Management Practices (BMP) document use this template, a Microsoft Excel file in macro format.

The intent of the Lentz system is to grow a superior quality oyster while utilizing less labor that will enable significant operation cost reduction and this presentation describes a large trial grow out study of this system.

Explores husbandry and equipment solutions to infestations of Polydora websteri, a marine polychaete worm, on a Maine oyster farm.

Overview of popular finfish and shellfish aquaculture systems (husbandry & gear) used in the northeast including bottom culture, near bottom culture, water column culture, surface culture, hatchery land-based systems.

Fact sheet on juvenile oyster disease (JOD) including background on the disease and etiological agent, known geographical range, host species, epizootiology, signs of disease, diagnostic procedures, procedures for transportation, and storage of samples.

Fact sheet on factors causing pathological changes in oysters, categories of bivalve pathology, preventative care information, and factors regulating oyster stock density.

Fact sheet on roseovarius oyster disease (ROD), previously known as juvenile oyster disease (JOD) including infection, mortality, resistance, and how to determine if an oyster is infected.

Fact sheet on MSX, caused by a single‐celled Protozoan parasite Haplosporidium nelsoni, including transmission, history, epizootic, resistance, infection, mortality, and management.

Fact sheet on QPX (Quahog Parasite Unknown) a Protozoan parasite of hard clams, Mercenaria mercenaria, including history, infection and mortality, guidelines for management, and how to determine if hard clams are infected.

Fact sheet on dermo disease, caused by a single‐celled Protozoan parasite Perkinsus marinus, including transmission, environmental factors, stages of the infection, and how to determine if oysters are infected.

If you're thinking about farming mussels, either as a sideline or the main chance, this booklet is designed to help you make decisions.This booklet reviews mussel raft culture in the Gulf of Maine, The Mussel Raft Project, Predators, storms and moorings, Mussel biology, Selecting a site, Steps in culturing mussels, Outreach, applied research, Sales and marketing , Getting into business, Planning a mussel business, Training and information, Leases and permits, Suppliers, and provides further reading suggestions.

Reviews common diseases of marine bivalves such as MSX, dermo, juvenile oyster disease, bonamiasis, hemic neoplasia, gonadal neoplasia, and QPX, and available means for preventing or minimizing their impacts.

In-depth review of the natural history and distribution, transmission, diagnostic methods, environmental influences, control measures, and management recommendations for MSX disease and dermo disease on oyster stocks.